EXCLUSIVE | Rohit Sharma’s batting reveals Ahmedabad pitch wasn’t poor, India will win collection 3-1: Irfan Pathan

Image Source : PTI Irfan Pathan
The Ahmedabad pitch got here beneath the radar after the Pink Ball Test between India and England final week wrapped up inside two days, registering itself because the shortest Test match performed because the World War. While most criticised the observe and urged ICC to take motion, former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan was of a special opinion, justifying his phrases via the 66-run knock that Rohit Sharma performed within the first innings of that Test. 

In an unique interview with India TV on Tuesday, Pathan defined {that a} poor pitch is one which reveals invariable bounce, however the one on Ahmedabad solely supplied ample flip to the spinners. He then went on to reward Rohit for his gritty 96-ball 66 within the first innings which remnained the very best rating by a batsman in that sport. 

“Too much is being said about the pitch. There shouldn’t be any debate. According to me, a poor pitch is one where there is invariable bounce. There was a lot of turn on the Ahmedabad track. Ask Rohit Sharma about the pitch, he won’t say anything. He batted so well on that pitch. So was he batting on a different pitch? It also comes down to the skill set of a batsman,” stated Irfan. 

The former Indian all-rounder the acknowledged the energy of the Indian workforce, particularly the 2 spinners who orchestrated the emphatic 10-wicket win in Ahmedabad. Axar Patel and R Ashwin picked 18 nwickets between themselves as India managed to take a 2-1 lead within the collection.  Irfan defined that the velocity and variation of the 2 spinners helped the 2 spinners on the turning observe. 

“Overall, I feel, India played well on that pitch. Yes, the match could have gone for three or five days but would I blame the pitch for ending the game within two days? No. There are a lot of things that resulted in India’s win. The bowlers – R Ashwin and Axar Patel were both brilliant. To perform well as a spinner in India, you have to deliver at a quicker rate. Bowlers who give flight to the deliveries have seldom gained success on Indian pitches. You need a spinner who has a low trajectory and can bowl at a certain pace while also displaying variations. And Indian bowlers have this skillset,” he stated.

Further speaking in regards to the collection, he predicted that the Kohli-led aspect will defeat England 3-1 within the Test collection and ebook a spot within the World Test Championship (WTC) last on the Lord’s. 

Irfan stated, “Let’s bring back 1983! People are going to get a similar feeling in the India-New Zealand encounter. It’s also a great opportunity for the team to avenge the 2019 World Cup semi-final defeat. The difference between two teams is very little in the T20 format but that’s not the case in the Test format.”

“England have good players in the shortest format of the game. They can challenge the Indian team but we are going to play at home. We know the conditions better but the margin is very little in the T20 format, so you never know. Indian fans also want to see both teams rolling out competitive games,” stated Irfan forward of the five-match T20I collection towards England.

India and England will lock horns in 5 T20Is in Ahmedabad ranging from March 12. The matches shall be performed on the newly-named Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, which additionally performs host to the final two video games of the four-Test collection. 

Irfan is presently a part of the Road Safety World collection the place he shall be a part of India Legends. The tornament begins from March 5 in Raipur.

“Looking forward to it. The cause behind the Road Safety World Series is definitely good. Veteran cricketers will be part of the tournament through which we will be providing the message about maintaining road safety and making people aware of it,” he signed off.