This Innings Will Be A Template For Rohit Sharma Going Forward, Feels Laxman

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ENG v IND: Former India batsman V.V.S. Laxman said that opener Rohit Sharma should follow the template of his innings against England on Thursday in future overseas Tests if he has to score centuries. Sharma scored 83, his highest score in an overseas Test match.

"This is the perfect template for Rohit Sharma if he has to perform consistently in overseas conditions," said Laxman on Thursday.

"I was talking about the transformation that Rohit Sharma had in his ODI career since the time he started opening. Even with his three [ODI] double hundreds -- there is a proper template he follows consistently and that is why he gets those consistent results and scores in white-ball cricket," said the former Indian middle-order batsman to espncricinfo.com.

Laxman, who had also opened for India in Test cricket before settling down in the middle-order, said that Sharma should focus on the processes and mark out the bowlers he needs to dominate.

"I think he has to find a template of how to build an innings. Because as an opener or as an international batsman, you have to have very good processes [about] how to build innings, how to convert starts into big scores, when to change gears. Which bowler to hit, which one to respect," added Laxman.

"I feel this innings will be a template for Rohit Sharma going forward because whenever Sam Curran was attacking the stumps, he was not hesitating in playing his natural shots especially using his wrists on the on-side."

The 46-year-old Hyderabadi said that Sharma should not worry about hundreds and if he follows the processes, he will eventually get hundreds.

The right-handed current India batsman has scored seven Test centuries but none of them have come overseas.

"Whenever the ball had to be left, in the corridor of uncertainty or even if it is an overpitch ball he was not looking to hit the ball on the rise or even hit that lavish drive. He is capable of leaving. So overall, it is a template on how he is going to bat in overseas conditions and I am sure he will eventually get hundreds," said Laxman.

"As an experienced player, he understands that you are not going to look out for hundreds. You will follow the processes and do the right things consistently, the results will eventually come your way."