“Pitch was normal, we made mistakes” - Rohit Sharma on two-day pink-ball Test
Indian opener Rohit Sharma refused to blame the surface for the pink-ball Test between Ahmedabad, which ended in two days with the hosts emerging triumphant by 10 wickets.
The pitch debate is back in focus following the third Test between India and England, in which most batsmen from both teams looked completely at sea against the spinners.
According to Rohit Sharma, the batters from both teams were at fault, and not the pitch. Speaking at a post-match media interaction, he opined:
“Honestly speaking, if you look at the 30 wickets that have fallen, I don’t see anything that the pitch did. The batsmen didn’t apply themselves. It is from our side also, not just them. As a batting unit, some of the shots we played were not up to the standards.”
Elaborating further on the Ahmedabad surface, Rohit Sharma said that the pitch was nothing more than a typical Indian wicket. He added:
“The pitch was completely fine. It seems a very normal pitch to me. It is a typical Indian wicket where the ball turns, the odd ball might just come in, that is what an Indian wicket is all about.”
Rohit Sharma was among the few batsmen from either side who looked in control out in the middle. The Indian opener made 66 in the first innings and was unbeaten on a run-a-ball 25 in the second, as India cruised to victory in the end.
Shot selection is the key: Rohit Sharma
The 33-year-old feels that with most of the sides still trying to figure out how to deal with the pink ball, shot selection becomes an even more significant factor. According to Rohit Sharma:
"We need to understand which shots we need to play - whether to play cut shot or not, whether to go over the top or not, whether to sweep or not. Those are things you need to understand when you are playing on a pitch like that.”
He further pointed out that there was no rough in Ahmedabad as opposed to the Chennai surface, where it was prominent. Rohit Sharma stated:
“In Chennai, every ball was turning from the rough. There was no rough here. Axar (Patel) got most of his wickets with the ball skidding on to the stumps and the batsmen missed the line. That’s all that happened. Pretty simple. We did the same thing. Some of the shots we played were not up to the skills that we have. We haven’t played spin so much with the pink ball. It was a good learning for us as a batting unit. When we play next, I think we will be very well equipped to handle that.”
The fourth Test between India and England will begin in Ahmedabad on March 4. Since they have a 2-1 lead, a draw will be enough for India to make it to the World Test Championship (WTC) final.