Picture abhi baanki hai! Away from the bell and egg-and-bacon ties, Rohit Sharma is keeping his own England tradition alive at Lord’s | Cricket News

Rohit Sharma plays a shot during the 3rd ODI against England at Lord’s. (ANI photo)

TimesofIndia.com in London: eight years ago, Rohit Sharma he summed it up with a line that now feels almost prophetic: “Throw me to the wolves and I’ll go back to leading the pack.” As retirement speculation engulfed him ahead of the Lord’s ODIs, the 39-year-old responded exactly as that quote promised, rising above the chatter with an innings that put to rest any questions about his future.On Sunday, Lord’s was painted blue for the third ODI between India and England. There are many traditions that define this iconic place: the gold and red-striped ties, aka the egg and bacon tie; the five-minute bell, rung by Yuvraj Singh on this occasion; a passage through the Long Hall with the Board of Honors on display and the watchful presence of Father Time. Away from all this was Rohit Sharma. He had been greeted during the net session a day earlier with a lot of cheers, and it continued as the team reached for the series decider.In recent days, attention has been focused on the 39-year-old. The third and final ODI was billed as the last. Some reports claimed that his parents were in attendance for this stage. Rumors of retirement were circulating. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia needed to come out officially and deny that it was Rohit’s last. Still, it didn’t stop the rumor from working overtime.As for Rohit, he looked completely comfortable in his own skin.“Look, my job is with the bat. Come to play, represent my country, represent the team. That’s what I’ve been told to do since my debut, and that’s what I’m going to do. The rumor, since I made my debut, has been there. And until the moment I’m going to stay here, it’s still going to be there. So it doesn’t really matter what is the success of contributing on the field. team. It’s all my focus now. And let the noise be there. If there is no noise, there is no pleasure. My work is inside, his work is outside. That’s how I saw it,” he told BCCI.tv after the match.And on the field, Rohit did what he has done before in this part of the world.Side opening Shubman Gill with a massive 388 runs to chase, Rohit did what he has done effortlessly in the last two decades. He toyed with the bowlers while going through his innings perfectly. A near-run-a-ball 50 turned into an 84-ball century as the accelerator was pressed past the 70-run mark. The right-hander switched gears quickly to jump from 69 off 69 to 121 off 100, scoring 52 runs off 31 balls.

“I thought the way Rohit bhai played his innings was outstanding,” skipper Shubman Gill said later. “During the Powerplay, we talked about whether we should go after the bowling or not, but we know it’s not easy to attack against the new ball. The way he paced his innings and then accelerated it was exceptional. Once he got into the 60s and 70s, he was really a treat to watch,” he added.Although Rohit was limping while completing singles, with 30% humidity playing its part, he chose to bowl the bowlers rather than deal in singles and doubles Virat Kohli at the other end. That 121 off 100 became 132 off 107 after two boundaries in a Sam Curran over, including a cracking shot towards deep extra cover. Two balls later, Jacob Bethell could only look towards the cow corner as Rohit sent the ball for a maximum, his fifth of the day. You could see the distressed expression on Bethell’s face. It wasn’t a bad ball. It was fair to an in-form Rohit, who has done this many times before.

India’s Rohit Sharma plays a knock during the 3rd ODI against England, at Lord’s in London on Sunday. (ANI photo)

The England bowler got his revenge one ball after Rohit went for a sweep, missed, and the ball found his pads before hitting the stumps for a lucky dismissal.Rohit received adulation and appreciation from the tens of thousands of attendees. His 34th ODI century. His eighth in England. And the first from an Indian to the Lord. All added to his resume. His impressive resume is seemingly far from over.The other half of the famous RoKo, Virat Kohlikeep the hunt alive. The chasemaster believed even as Rohit departed after his 113-run stand, long after the duo, playing their 400th match together, had shared a massive hug after Rohit’s ton. India needed 128 from 68 balls. Was a miracle, in NatWest 2002, possible?

We played our whole career together, so it was nice to have him in the middle. We had a lot of partners. It’s always fun to beat together. We understand each other so well.

Rohit Sharma

Kohli tried his best. A tossed-up Will Jacks delivery allowed the 37-year-old to dance down the track and send it sailing over the bowler’s head for a maximum. Still with a job to finish, Kohli just raised his bat in recognition of his 46-ball fifty, his first at Lord’s. Two balls later, Kohli used his wrists to send the ball over backward square leg for another six.In between, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer came and went. Kohli stood up in the middle, and a colleague called out, “lone warrior again.” The gladiator of the Indian team went after Jacob Bethell, hit for a straight six.But the knock, and the chase, were effectively over after Sam Curran got rid of Kohli for 74 off 60 balls, laced with four fours and three sixes. Kohli, as always, was frustrated that he couldn’t get the job done and couldn’t lead the team beyond the finish line.

With India losing the bilateral ODI series 1-2, after being beaten 0-2 and 0-4 by Ireland and England respectively in the T20Is, there will be a lot for the BCCI hierarchy to assess. But for RoKo, who continues to bring thousands to stadiums and millions to their televisions, the road is not over.“We played all our careers together, so it was nice to have him in the middle. We had a lot of partners. It’s always fun batting together. We understand each other so well. It’s always nice in the middle of ideas, bouncing ideas and trying to see what we can do. So there was a lot of conversation that happened while we were batting,” Rolit and the Lord said at the time together.Unless something drastic happens, that time in the middle will continue for at least one more series. Kohli and Rohit have had contrasting report cards this series in their bid to be in South Africa for the 2027 ODI World Cup. While Kohli scored 144 runs from three matches, returning after a blip at Edgbaston, Rohit raced to 175 runs in the series after his century at Lord’s.As for the rumors of Rohit’s retirement and the end of his 19-year ODI career, the snooze button can be pressed quickly. “He didn’t tell us anything. I think everything is in the media, but there was no such discussion in the team,” said skipper Shubman Gill in the post-match press conference.India’s next ODI assignment is in September against the West Indies, with more in store in New Zealand in November and against Sri Lanka in December.