2nd ODI: 'Some things are meant to be with you', says Rohit on mysterious celebration after hitting century

Guwahati, Sep 30 (IANS) Veteran India opener Rohit Sharma described the uncharacteristic celebration behind his 35th ODI century against the West Indies at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati as a deeply personal moment, revealing that it was strictly meant "for myself."

Rohit smashed a brilliant 101 off 75 balls to set up India's historic run-chase of 406 against the West Indies, while stitching a monumental 255-run opening stand with skipper Shubman Gill, who slammed an unbeaten 223.

After reaching his century, Rohit did a high-knee kind of jog while completing the single and did a light bat raise. "I keep that celebration for myself. Ah, it's for me. It's for me. Some things are just meant to be with you. It's not to be shared. So yeah, that was for me," Rohit said after the match ended.

He also shared a light-hearted exchange with teammate Ravindra Jadeja, who quizzed him about the celebration on the field.

"He was asking me what that was about.

I said I'll tell you in the dressing room. It's for me. But he was quite innovative. He wanted me to come and slide and jump, and that's how he wanted me to celebrate. I said, 'Man, after 50 overs of fielding and batting almost for 25-30 overs, I was never going to do that,' he said.

Reflecting on the record-breaking chase, Rohit emphasised that the key was not getting overwhelmed by the 400-plus scoreboard and focusing purely on building partnerships.

"Absolutely.

I think the wicket was good. We just wanted to continue to keep batting. We were not thinking too much about the scoreboard, to be honest.

“We were just trying to play according to the merit of the ball, and we kept stitching the partnership, which was, I think, when you're chasing a target like that, you need to keep stitching big partnerships, and that's what we did," he observed.

Rohit was all praise for his opening partner Gill, who stayed till the end to anchor India to a famous eight-wicket victory.

"Gill was fantastic on the other side, very much in control of his batting the entire innings, and to stay not out till the end was fantastic to see as well," he said.

Batting for nearly 30 overs after spending 50 overs on the field in oppressive humidity required immense physical and mental grit, something Rohit attributed to sheer concentration and years of experience.

"Again, that comes down to concentration. You've got to keep telling yourself not to throw it away, because conditions here are challenging, but that's where I wanted to just bring my experience of playing for so many years.

“You just don't want to give it that easily; try and stay as much as possible in the game, and we knew that the pitch was good, and we needed big runs from the top order, and that's exactly what happened.

"We had a very good partnership at the top, and that pretty much sealed the game for us. 250-odd run partnership there. As I said, it was amazing to watch Gill on the other side, and glad we could finish on the high," he concluded.

--IANS

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