"Beautiful pitch" - Rohit Sharma impressed by Chennai's surface after IND vs BAN 2024 1st Test
Team India captain Rohit Sharma heaped praise on the Chennai surface after a comprehensive victory over Bangladesh in the first of the two Tests. The 37-year-old opined that it wasn't a pitch where wickets and runs were hard to go by, lauding his players for adapting well to it.
The home side had slipped to 144/6 at one stage on Day 1, but Ravichandran Ashwin's classy hundred alongside his 199-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja propelled them to 376. The bowlers were ruthless enough to force mistakes from Bangladesh batters in both innings despite decent batting conditions. Ashwin was the chief destroyer with the ball in the fourth innings, bagging six wickets.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Rohit stated how they had gotten used to things happening on Indian pitches from the get-go, but it was different this time.
"Beautiful pitch, red soil always offers a lot. You have to be patient. You've gotten used to things happening every ball in India, but it wasn't the case here. We were patient to get the big runs and take wickets," he said.
Rohit heaped praise on Ashwin, claiming that words are not enough for the contribution he makes everytime while stepping on the field.
"Ashwin will come in and talk to you, he's the right man to answer what he does. He's always there for us over the years. I don't know if I speak here it'll be enough to cover what he does for the team. He looks like he's never out of the game. He played IPL, had some fun in the TNPL. He batted up the order and that helped," Rohit further said.
The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer bailed India out of trouble on Day 1. He scored a classy 113 and shared a 199-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja.
"We always knew what he can do with the bat" - Rohit Sharma on Rishabh Pant
Rohit equally lavished praise on Rishabh Pant, who played his first Test since returning to international cricket after his near-fatal accident. The right-hander observed how Pant did the hard yards before playing in this Test.
"Pant has been through some tough times, the way he has managed himself through those tough times has been superb to watch. He's done well in the IPL, the World Cup, and this is the format he loves the most. We always knew what he can do with the bat, our focus was to give him game time. He did that in the Duleep trophy and now here," Rohit said.
India have retained the same squad for the second Test against Bangladesh, starting September 27.