Who said what - top 5 expert reactions on Rohit Sharma's 97-ball 73 in AUS vs IND 2025 2nd ODI ft. Sunil Gavaskar 

Team India opening batter Rohit Sharma top-scored for his side in the second ODI against Australia at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday, October 23. The veteran player made a strong comeback after his poor outing in the series opener in Perth, where he was dismissed for just eight runs.

Rohit Sharma had to go through a testing phase against the new ball in the first powerplay, with the Australian seamers offering no room to operate. The Hitman was struggling to get going at one stage, boasting a strike rate of less than 50, while the batters alongside him also faced the same fate.

The senior batter had the massive task of rescuing the innings from 17-2 after Xavier Bartlett dismissed both Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli in the same over.

Rohit Sharma switched gears gradually during a massive 118-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer to bring up a statement-making fifty. He was on course for more in typical fashion, but holed out to the deep off Mitchell Starc's bowling to bring an abrupt end to his innings in the middle overs.

On that note, let us take a look at the top five expert reactions on Rohit Sharma's 97-ball 73 in AUS vs IND 2025 2nd ODI.

#1 Zaheer Khan

The former India pacer praised Rohit Sharma for adapting to the situation and doing exactly what the team needed, and providing stability to the innings. The opener certainly had to play outside his comfort zone as he had to dig in instead of playing some free-flowing, aggressive cricket.

The knock in the second ODI was Rohit Sharma's slowest fifty in a decade, since it took him 74 deliveries to reach the milestone.

"Rohit really grinded it out in the initial stage and looked very scratchy. But you had to do that in the first 15 overs. It was important he stayed there and stitched that very good partnership with Shreyas. Today's innings was a classic example of adapting to the situation and the team's needs. Your natural instinct is to look to take the game on, especially in the first powerplay. But today it wasn't that kind of day. It wasn't that he wasn't trying but he understood that the pitch had enough to offer for the bowlers," Zaheer Khan said on Cricbuzz.

"He saw that phase through and it looked like he was changing gears as he moved along. The shot was on but it was just one of those days. Even Mitchell Starc's reaction suggested that he didn't deserve that wicket with that delivery," he added.

#2 Mohammad Kaif

The former India batter praised Rohit Sharma for overcoming the pre-match chatter regarding his rustiness and form to make a massive statement, and declare his intent to be in the Indian team in the long run.

"Too much social media chatter about his future, tough pitch, world class pacers operating, Gill and Kohli out cheaply... Despite all that Rohit plays a very important inning for India and his career. This 73 at Adelaide will give him a lot of confidence. Rohit shows he isn’t’ going anywhere," Kaif posted on X.

#3 Irfan Pathan

The former India all-rounder remarked that Rohit Sharma would be both proud and relieved after battling it out in testing conditions and circumstances to play a crucial knock for his team, and also for his career.

"Rohit Sharma has scored double centuries, he is the third leading run scorer for India in ODIs, but the relief he must have got after this struggling innings, he must have hardly got in his career. He was ready and prepared for that struggle. He also showed his fitness. But even with the struggle, he never deviated from his plan. His strike rate even after facing 60 balls, was around the 50-mark, Sure, if the batting could have been more free flowing, and that would have benefitted India but this will give him a lot of relief," Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube channel.

#4 Aakash Chopra

The former Indian batter opined that Rohit Sharma greatly struggled at the start of the innings, but feels that this gritty knock would take a lot of pressure off of him since another poor outing would have made the final ODI in Sydney a hugely tricky prospect.

"Paintings are beautiful, batting is not meant to be beautiful, it should be effective. Rohit Sharma's innings was ugly in the beginning, and there are ugly runs that you need to score. Not one of his fluent knocks. In my opinion, it was an important innings for Rohit Sharma because it is set up well now. He had a poor outing in the first match, had there been a poor score in this match as well, then there would have been a lot of pressure in Sydney," Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

#5 Sunil Gavaskar

The legendary Indian batter noted how Shubman Gill reserved praise for Rohit Sharma's knock, which was justified since he also feels the same way. Gavaskar hailed The Hitman for playing according to what the situation and conditions demanded instead of opting for his more natural aggressive route.

"Bringing all of his experience into play, India lost Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli early. So, clearly, it was required of Rohit Sharma to settle down a little bit and get the team to a good partnership, and that is exactly the way you need to play. He was looking the team to get off to a flying start in the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy, and if you are trying to get a hundred and you have got 80 or 90, you have done very well for your team," Gavaskar told India Today.

He was not looking to blast the ball in the first 10 overs, and getting maybe a quick 40-50 in 25 deliveries. If the young SG (Shubman Gill) is pleased, how can the old SGv (Sunil Gavaskar) be displeased?