Rohit Sharma vs Tim Southee: A One-Sided Duel in International Cricket, Kiwi Pacer's Numbers Speaks Volumes

Add as a preferred source on Google

The chants of 'Mumbai Cha Raja Rohit Sharma' echoed through the Pune stadium, as the crowd eagerly anticipated a captain's knock in the second Test match against New Zealand.

Rohit Sharma, who scored a fifty in the second innings of the Bengaluru Test, was dismissed in an odd manner and was unfortunate to have missed out on a big knock.

The fans expected him to go all guns blazing. However, once again, the Indian skipper fell short of expectations, succumbing to his familiar foe, Tim Southee. During the last ball of the third over, Rohit Sharma was out for a duck, and the crowd was stunned into silence.

Southee, who knows a thing or two about exposing Rohit's frailties, pitched the ball in a good length area, and the ball moved away off the seam, making it literally tough for Rohit to guess the ball. The Indian skipper looked to defend from the crease but paid the price for his misjudgment. The red cherry went past the edge before clipping the top of off stump following a slight deflection off the back pad. The senior pro made his way back to the dressing room after a nine-ball duck.

Rohit Sharma Fails to Address the Technical Flaws Against Tim Southee

Meanwhile, the recurring template of Rohit's struggles against the lanky pacer has become a point of concern. Rohit's risky approach against Southee's swinging deliveries has often haunted him because it increases the chances of edging deliveries that move away late.

As always been the case, Rohit's initial foot movement often seems indecisive, which leads to scenarios where he is neither fully forward nor back. This is the reason why he has been vulnerable to both the incoming and outgoing deliveries off Tim Southee.

During the first Test in Bengaluru, Tim Southee made a mess of Rohit Sharma's stumps. The right-arm fast bowler's knack for dismissing Rohit helped him reach a significant milestone as he recorded 14 dismissals in international cricket, the most against Rohit Sharma, tied with South Africa's Kagiso Rabada.

As far as the Test format is concerned, Southee has made the Indian skipper his frequent victim in recent times. In Test cricket, the duo have faced each other in eight innings. The Kiwi pacer has often come out on top by dismissing him on four occasions. The Nagpur-born faced 126 deliveries but could score only 51 runs at a paltry batting average of 12.75.