India captain Rohit Sharma didn’t hold back when queried about Test matches finishing within 3 days in India.
Following India’s 9-wicket loss to Australia in the Indore Test, which concluded in the second hour of Day 3, Rohit Sharma was blunt in his response when a journalist pointed out that Test matches in India in the last 2-3 years have rarely gone into Day 5. Because of the WTC points at stake, India have been preparing spin-friendly surfaces to suit their strength.
In the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, all 3 Test matches have finished inside 3 days, and since 2021, very few Tests in India have gone into late Day 4 and Day 5.
Frustrated by the chatter of the pitches, Rohit Sharma pointed out that the West Indies-South Africa Test in Centurion also finished in 3 days, and that the ones which dragged for 5 days on the flat pitches in Pakistan were labeled as “boring”.
“People have to play well for the game to last five days. Games don’t last 5 days even outside India. In South Africa, the game yesterday got over in 3 days. In Pakistan, people were saying it’s so boring, so we are making things interesting,” Rohit Sharma said in the press conference in Indore.
We didn’t bat well in the 1st innings: Rohit Sharma
In Indore, India were bundled out for 109 and 163, with Matthew Kuhnemann picking up 5 wickets in the first innings and Nathan Lyon running through the India line-up with 8-fer in the second innings. Khawaja, Head and Labuschagne made significant batting contributions.
Rohit Sharma conceded that the Indian batters didn’t bat well in the first innings; he believes as Australia took an 88-run lead in the first innings, they fell too much behind in the game.
“We didn’t bat well in the 1st innings. No matter what the pitches are, need to come out and follow the plans. Got to be brave on these pitches. We allowed their bowlers to hit the same spot. Need to go back and see what worked in first two Tests,” Rohit said.
While Australia sealed their spot in the WTC final with this victory, India need to win the fourth Test in Ahmedabad to book theirs.