India vs Australia - 'Former Players Have Not played On These Pitches': Rohit Sharma On Playing On Rank Turners

Yet another match in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has ended in less than three days. On Friday, it was India's turn to taste loss as the Rohit Sharma-led side were dominated by Australia throughout in the third Test. The surfaces in Nagpur and Delhi too attracted attention but the one in Indore copped the most flak. The ball was turning viciously in the first half hour and uneven bounce made the task tougher for the batters.

Dilip Vengsarkar, Matthew Hayden and Mark Waugh were among the former cricketers who thought the pitch was not good for Test cricket. For the third straight time, the match ended inside three days.

"Former cricketers, I don't think they played on pitches like these. So I don't know honestly. Like I said, this is the kind of pitches we want to play on. This is our strength. So when you are playing at home, you always play to your strength and not worry about what people are talking about," Rohit Sharma said at a post-match press conference.

"Our strength is spin bowling and batting depth. Other teams use home advantage when we travel overseas. What is wrong in that? Especially when we are getting the results.

"If we were not getting the results I would think otherwise. We are getting the results. Some batters are under pressure but that is okay. You can't have all members of your team in good form. Few will go through a rough patch but that is okay," said Rohit, who staunchly defended the team's tactics."

On Day 3 of the third Test, Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head made a cakewalk of the 76-run chase as Australia defeated India by 9 wickets. Ravichandran Ashwin struck early on Friday to dismiss Usman Khawaja, but India failed to maintain the pressure on the visitors. On Thursday, Nathan Lyon took 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 the effort. In India's first innings, Lyon had scalped three wickets.

With PTI inputs

Topics mentioned in this article

Mark Waugh Matthew Hayden Rohit Sharma Dilip Balwant Vengsarkar India Cricket Team Australia Cricket Team India vs Australia, 2023 Cricket