"This Pitch Talk Is Just Getting...": India Skipper Rohit Sharma's Blunt Take After Indore Test Loss
India vs Australia: Rohit Sharma feels that the focus should not be on the pitch, but on the performance of the players.
India skipper Rohit Sharma expressed his displeasure over the talks around the pitches for the ongoing India vs Australia Test series. The pitch in Nagpur, that hosted the first match, became a talk of the town even before the start of the series. The second and third Tests took place in Delhi and Indore, respectively, and the surfaces of both the venues also came under the radar of critics for the amount of turn they offered to the spinners. It is worth noting that all the three matches ended in less than three days.
Rohit feels that the focus should not be on the pitch, but on the performance of the players.
"I am not worried about the pitch. Honestly, this pitch talk is just getting too much. Every time we play in India, there is only focus on the pitch. Why are people not asking me about Nathan Lyon? How well he bowled, how well (Cheteshwar) Pujara batted in the second innings, how well Usman Khawaja played! Those are the things if you ask me I can give you details of, not the pitch because we focus too much on the pitch here in India and I don't feel it's necessary," said the India skipper in the press conference after the Indore Test.
Talking about the game, Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head made a cakewalk of the 76-run chase as Australia defeated India by 9 wickets in the third Test in Indore.
Ravichandran Ashwin struck early on Friday to dismiss Usman Khawaja, but India failed to maintain the pressure on the visitors.
On Thursday, Nathan Lyon had taken eight wickets as Australia bundled India out for 163 runs, getting a 76-run target. Cheteshwar Pujara top-scored with 59, but Lyon's figures of 8 for 64 overshadowed his effort. In India's first innings, Lyon had scalped three wickets.
Rohit Sharma
Usman Khawaja
Cheteshwar Pujara
Nathan Lyon