Scott Styris said that Rohit Sharma is going to struggle against the moving and swinging ball as he pointed out the Indian opener doesn’t move his feet a lot at the start of his innings. Styris also singled out Neil Wagner as New Zealand’s wicket-taking option in the middle overs.
The preparations for the World Test Championship Final are in full swing. New Zealand have finished their two-match Test series against England and returned with a fantastic 1-0 series win. India arrived in Southampton in the first week of June and have played intra-squad games.
India’s opening pair has been an area of concern in the past. Players have constantly been chopped and changed in order to find the ideal combination. Rohit Sharma has excelled as an opener over the last couple of years and his Test career has taken off once again.
Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw’s loss of form in Australia opened the door for Shubman Gill who has been impressive as well. India have stuck to the Rohit-Gill duo at the top for a period of six Test matches and skipper Virat Kohli also spoke about giving them a long rope.
However, Scott Styris feels the moving ball and the bowler-friendly conditions could trouble Rohit. The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that the Mumbaikar doesn’t really move his feet a lot at the start of the innings and hence, the swinging ball could be a problem for him.
Again, it is pitch dependent. I think I can’t stress that enough. I think if the ball is moving around then Rohit will have his struggles. In the Select Dugout, we have done demonstrations after demonstrations about how Rohit doesn’t really move his feet a lot early in his innings. If that’s the case, then the swinging ball could be a problem for him.
Scott Styris was quoted saying to Star Sports in a show named ‘Game Plan’ ahead of the WTC Final.
Moreover, Styris said that Neil Wagner could be New Zealand’s big wicket-taking option in the middle overs. Wagner has been in stellar form and is the second-highest wicket-taker for New Zealand in this WTC. He has returned with 52 wickets from 11 Tests and averages 22.57.
So, when you talk about Wagner, it’s his ability to be aggressive and be a genuine wicket-taking option for somebody like Kohli in those middle overs till the new ball comes around.
Styris added.
