5 positives for India from the Kolkata Test

#4 Rohit Sharma’s Eden Gardens love-affair continues

Rohit Sharma has scored bucket loads of runs at Eden Gardens

Rohit Sharma and Eden Gardens share a special bond. The Mumbai batsman made his test debut here against the West Indies in 2013 and went on to score a magnificent 177 helping India win the match.

He scored a historic 264 against Sri Lanka, the highest runs by an ODI batsman in an innings, here. So when the second test match began, it was a given that Sharma will have an impact with the bat.

After failing to do so in the first innings, the 29-year-old stood up in the second innings and dragged his team out of some serious trouble. India were struggling at 43 for the loss of 4 wickets when he walked in, and along with captain Kohli, helped India stabilise. After the loss of Virat, he along with Saha, batted very sensibly, leaving the Kiwis to chase a mammoth total.

His knock of 82 included 9 boundaries and 2 sixes as he dominated the Kiwi attack while showing some commendable restraint on a track that was tricky to bat on.

This innings, coming after another crucial knock in the Kanpur Test, will certainly silence his critics for the time being. It is pleasing to see that the confidence shown by the management on him is finally paying off.

He will have been disappointed not to score a century, but surely, he’s become the latest addition in the series of Eden Gardens’ most loved sons along with the likes of Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Azharuddin, to name a few.