On Friday, March 10, former India head coach Ravi Shastri said that the 4th Test between India and Australia on a good batting pitch in Ahmedabad will be a big learning experience for Rohit Sharma as captain of the Test team. Shastri said that since Rohit became the full-time Test captain, there haven’t been many times at home where he’s had to think on his feet when under pressure. This is because of how the pitches have been in recent years.
In 2023, the first three Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy were all played on rank-turners and were all over in three days. Australia lost the first Test in Nagpur by 6 wickets and an innings and 132 runs to India. On Day 3 of the Nagpur Test, India won by an innings and 132 runs. In the Indore Test, Australia got even with India by beating them by 9 wickets in 2 days and 1 hour.
But the pitch for the 4th Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad was not a rank-turner, which surprised a lot of people. Australia won the toss on the first morning of Day 1 and chose to bat, since the conditions were good for batters. Notably, for the first time in the fast-paced series, there was a session with no wickets. Australia ended Day 1 with 255 runs and 4 wickets at Stumps, and Usman Khawaja scored a hundred without being out.
Even though India’s captain Rohit Sharma switched his bowlers around in the first session of Day 2, neither Khawaja nor Cameron Green, who had batted overnight, got out. This meant that they kept adding runs. At lunch, Khawaja was still unbeaten with 150 runs, and Green was still unbeaten with 95 runs. The two batters had put together a 177-run unbeaten partnership for the 5th wicket.
“Rohit Sharma has a lot to learn from this. Tests were over quickly, and the game was moving along very quickly. This one, though, is a good pitch. There aren’t as many wickets as there used to be. Then you have to put on your thinking cap and use all the tools you have. It’s one thing to be a captain abroad, and it’s another thing to be a captain in India on good tracks “Shastri told Star Sports on air.
“He has all the right skills, but he needs this chance to show them off. You’ll be put to the test when one partnership comes up “Shastri went on.
“TRUST YOUR PACERS”
