Rohit happy to have struck form

The immense faith that the selectors and the team management have reposed in Rohit Sharma’s obvious talent appears to be paying off.

Rohit was retained in the side despite a string of failures during the five-match one-day series in Sri Lanka and as such the Mumbai batsman was under pressure to deliver the goods. The right-hander followed up his 37 against hosts in the first practice match on Saturday with a stroke-filled 56 against Pakistan here on Monday.

“It’s just a start and there is still a long way in the tournament,” said Rohit talking about his two innings.

“Talking about the past, that tour (of Sri Lanka), was very frustrating but everyone showed great faith in me and I have certainly worked very hard on my batting and my fitness. After my Sri Lankan tour I had a 25-day break and I made full use of it. I practised at BKC (in Mumbai) and at the NCA (in Bangalore). I’ll try my best to do what the team needs me to do. And yes it (hard work) is showing,” he elaborated.

Rohit admitted it was frustrating to lose a match after scoring over 180.

“I think 186 was a good target on this wicket because I thought there was a bit of help for the spinners but it was one of those days when things didn’t come together. It was a warm-up game but we were very focussed and intense and we wanted to win this game. It was just that our bowling didn’t click.”