London: Australia all-rounder Cameron Green has just completed a stint playing under Rohit Sharma, and can now turn to what he learned from the India skipper when they meet again in the ICC World Test Championship final.
The 24-year old Green showed few signs of nerves that might come with being the most expensive Australian in IPL history as he compiled 452 runs and took six wickets for Mumbai Indians under the captaincy of Rohit.
The gun all-rounder was critical in Mumbai’s last-gasp surge to the playoffs with a 47-ball century in their final IPL group match, which started with a blazing 128-run stand with Rohit.
Mumbai were eventually knocked out in the Qualifier 2, but Green and Rohit are set to cross paths again when Australia and India clash in the ICC World Test Championship Final at The Oval.
While the Mumbai teammates will now be WTC final foes, Green can turn to what he learned from the India skipper throughout the IPL and in their crucial century partnership when they meet in the red-ball showdown.
“The calmness he has out in the middle is so evident,” Green said to the ICC when asked about playing under Rohit’s guidance.
“He’s obviously been there and done that for 10 years. To be out there with him and just talk through a situation was awesome. My role was trying to be aggressive and then he obviously showed ways to go about it, whether it was attacking spin, attacking pace, kind of picking your bowler in a way,” he added.
Green has enjoyed a purple patch in recent times including a five-wicket haul in the Boxing Day Test, then made his mark with the bat for a maiden Test ton.
That breakthrough century came in Green’s 20th Test as Australia chased an unlikely victory against India on a flat track in Ahmedabad but ultimately fell short and lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series 2-1.
The 24-year-old played the last two of the four Tests in that series, including Australia’s victory in Indore, but saw enough of India to pick out their main threat when the teams meet again the WTC Final.
“Virat Kohli. I think he always tries to be the man to stand up in big moments. A World Test Championship is obviously a massive moment, so I look forward to that,” Green said.
Green was the last of the Australia squad to meet up with the group in England after Mumbai went deep in the IPL playoffs, but expects to have no issues switching out of the T20 mindset in time for the WTC Final that starts June 7.
“There is nothing like Test cricket when you’re kind of out in the middle. Obviously your nerves are running really high. I think the best players are the best ones that are able to handle that,” Green said.
IANS