Indian captain Roshi Sharma Won’t comment on the mental stamina of the Australian team, but certainly didn’t expect them to be knocked out with just one session on the third day of Saturday’s opening Test in Nagpur. Australia fell to an innings and 132 runs after being out for just 91 in the second article between lunch and tea on day three. “No, I haven’t,” the captain said when asked if he expected the game to end in three days.
“We were ready for a tough bowling game, game after game. We never thought they’d be knocked out in one game. As you can see, the pitches are getting slower and slower, There was no bounce on the pitch, so it was a bit of a surprise for me,” the India captain told his post-match news conference.
There was a lot of talk in the Australian media ahead of the game, with one major newspaper calling the Jamtha track a “system tampered” while others said it was “dodgy” before it even pitched.
Asked if he thought his team was mentally tougher than Australia, the cool-headed India captain made the point in his own unique way.
“I don’t know the mentality of the Australian team. I can vouch for our team, we are the ones who want to play on a pitch like this, and not just from now on, we’ve been like this for the last three years on the pitch – four years,” the skipper said.
He continued to speak in his sarcastic way. “Because we’ve all grown up on courts like this, there’s no talking about the court in the locker room,” he said.
For the India skipper, preparation, whether for the game of cricket or in any other area of life, is key to success.
“I was very grateful for the training session at Civil Lines before we came here. We had four or five net sessions and prepared the kind of pitch we were supposed to get here.
“Whether it’s going down the runway or sweeping, reverse sweeping, hitting the ball over the top, when you’re ready, you gain confidence, not just in cricket but everywhere,” he said .
In the historic 2021 series, India made a comeback after being knocked out with 36 runs in the first Test. An Australian scribe asked if their team could turn things around? “That’s a good question,” Rohit said with a wry smile.
“Australia have always been a good team. A lot of the players who played in that series didn’t represent Australia. Australia likes to play Test cricket and they take pride in representing the country, so we’re very aware of their bounce and how they’re doing. Can be done as a team.
“We want to play the cricket we’re playing and we’ll continue to do that for the three matches we have. As captain, I need to focus on what we have in Derry and move on from there,” he added.
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