Brat pack leave calling cards

However,it wasn’t just Rohit who would have caught the selectors’ attention on Thursday. On a day when Bengal’s Manoj Tiwary,Punjab’s Mandeep Singh,Saurashtra’s Ravindra Jadeja and Karnataka’s KB Pawan made big unbeaten centuries,Rohit was just one amongst the brat pack that made some serious headway in the days’ game. But considering how unlucky he was in England — a stay that was cut short after just one ball — it would be fair to say that amongst all his first-class centuries,Rohit will probably cherish his Thursday innings the most.

With his side in a bit of bother — three batsmen,including Mumbai skipper Wasim Jaffer had been dismissed in the first session — Rohit,along with Suryakumar Yadav,launched a ferocious counter-attack to put the 39-time champions on a strong footing on the opening day. While Rohit is looking good for yet another first-class double ton,every run following Mumbai’s 338/5 will only make life hard for the home side on Day Two.

Not long after handing over his first Mumbai cap to Kaustubh Pawar,Jaffer walked out to the middle with the debutant opener on Thursday. Although the pair did get off to a good start — 56 for the first wicket — they failed to capitalise on the situation and soon found themselves in a bit of a muck. Twelve runs after Pawar (31) was dismissed,the wily old men of the Railways side — JP Yadav and Murali Kartik — combined to dismiss Jaffer on 33. And when No.3 bat Prashant Naik was out shortly after,Mumbai had completely ceased the advantage at 97/3 after winning the toss and electing to bat. But that’s when Rohit decided to launch his comeback knock.

He smashed Ranjitkumar Mali for four consecutive fours soon after the lunch break. Veteran Kartik too was greeted with a flowing cover drive and then another lofted boundary over the left-arm spinner’s head opened the floodgates. At the other end,Yadav matched Rohit stroke to stroke as the two went about setting a big platform for the visitors. Unlike Rohit,though,Yadav missed his three-figure mark by 12 runs,caught plum in front of wicket by Anureet Singh. He may have lost his partner in the 73rd over of the day,but Rohit went on from strength to strength,notching up his 11th first-class century.

Just a few months back,a freak delivery from Stuart Broad — one that rose nastily from length — had hit him flush on the finger during the first ODI,and Rohit was unable to play the ODI series,let alone cement his side when the seniors were absent. “This was my third game after the injury and I’m glad I pulled through. The conditions were not easy,every other ball would die down on us so it was very difficult,” said Rohit,who is quite used to fighting the monsters of the Karnail Singh track,having scored 101 at the same ground two seasons back.

On Thursday,Rohit did everything that was expected of him,and more. He hit back when his side needed to break the shackles and then curbed his enthusiasm when his side lost two wickets in the final session. But the knock will be remembered best because the comeback man has begun what he does best — making a comeback all over again.

Brief scores: Mumbai 338/5 in 90 overs (Rohit Sharma batting 133,Suryakumar Yadav 88,Wasim Jaffer 33; JP Yadav 1/44) vs Railways