How Did Rohit Sharma Smash Haris Rauf Brutally In World Cup? Wasim Akram Explains
Rohit Sharma hammered Haris Rauf in IND vs PAK game [AP]
On Saturday, India crushed Pakistan by seven wickets in Ahmedabad to maintain their unbeaten run against the arch-rivals in ODI World Cups. Bowling first, India restricted Pakistan to a paltry 191-run total and later chased the target without breaking a sweat, riding on a scintillating knock from skipper Rohit Sharma.
Sharma, who got off the mark with a glorious flick shot off Shaheen Afridi, took a particular liking for ace Pakistani speedster Haris Rauf. Hailed for his extraordinary pace-hitting skills, Sharma hammered Rauf for three gigantic sixes, demoralising the speedster in this process.
Meanwhile, legendary Pakistani pacer Wasim Akram has decoded how Sharma was able to hit Rauf nonchalantly in the game.
As quoted by the Times of India, Akram opined that Rauf couldn't nail the bouncers perfectly, gifting Sharma harmless short balls, which the batter deposited in the stands with ease. He also urged the bowler to fine-tune his ODI bowling skills, working on his line and length.
"Talking about Haris Rauf, nothing against him as he's been Pakistan's main bowler, I think he will only picks wickets when the batters go after him. I've never seen him swing the ball and pick wickets like Bumrah did today. He has pace but he has to improve his length for one-day cricket," Akram stated.
"Rauf was not bowling bouncers to Rohit. You need to hit proper bouncers so that Rohit would have pulled, got a leading edge, and would have got caught at fine leg or square leg. Rauf was bowling at his waist height and Rohit knew where to send the ball," he concluded.
After performing exceptionally against the Netherlands, Rauf had successive poor outings in Pakistan's next two fixtures against Sri Lanka and India. Therefore, he would like to bounce back in Pakistan's upcoming group-stage game against Australia in Bengaluru on the 20th.