India, May 5 -- "And our very own Rohit Sharma is back."

Even before stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav uttered the seventh of those eight words, the Wankhede Stadium transformed itself into a cacophonous cauldron. The packed house at the unofficial home of Indian cricket - with due respect to the iconic Eden Gardens and the sprawling Narendra Modi Stadium - wasn't unaware that it wouldn't be another two hours before the former India captain would make an on-field appearance, but having waited more than three weeks, what was a mere 120 minutes?

Rohit didn't disappoint. He took his time initially, which was perfectly understandable given that he had been denied game-time for 21 days owing to a hamstring injury, but when he convinced himse...