IND vs ENG | ‘Take the wicket out and blame the batsmen?’ – Cook slams Kohli’s evaluation of Motera pitch

Image Source : TWITTER/BCCI India crushed England by 10 wickets inside two days in Ahmedabad.
Former England captain Alastair Cook on Friday questioned Virat Kohli’s stance on the Motera pitch and stated the India skipper “defended the wicket almost as if it’s a BCCI thing”.

Disagreeing with Kohli’s evaluation of the third Test that ended with India crushing England by 10 wickets inside two days, Cook stated batting was close to not possible on the newly laid strip on the refurbished stadium in Ahmedabad.

“Virat Kohli’s come out and defended the wicket almost as if it’s a BCCI thing — it cannot possibly be the wicket. Yet it was so hard to bat on that. So hard,” Cook instructed Channel 4.

“Take the wicket out and blame the batsmen?” Cook requested, referring to Kohli’s evaluation of the pitch that it is a “very good pitch to bat on — especially in the first innings”.

“To be honest, I don’t think the quality of batting was up to standards. We were 100 for 3 and bowled out for less than 150. It was just that the odd ball turning and it was a good wicket to bat in the first innings,” the India skipper had stated in his defence of the pitch after the match.

Only two batsmen — one every from either side — might rating a half-century as 28 wickets fell to the spinners on a Motera pitch that many gamers felt was not superb for a Test match. The likes of Sunil Gavaskar, nonetheless, credited the spinners reasonably than blaming the pitch.

Cook added, “We’ve acquired Virat Kohli, Joe Root, we’ve got some nice gamers of spin. Yes, we have some individuals who have gotten to study to play spin higher, however we’ve got acquired nice gamers of spin additionally struggling.

“To me, it’d be great to have that game with the red ball to see the difference when the ball is skidding on. Today trying to play properly, it was nigh-on impossible.”

Cook, one in all England’s all-time greats and who had had success in opposition to India throughout his illustrious profession, additionally spoke concerning the many deliveries that straightened on touchdown, particularly by left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who completed the match with 11 wickets, together with six in England’s second innings.

“We noticed a stat that claims this pitch has spun greater than some other pitch in India. There’s been so many different balls which have gone straight on as properly. So meaning when it’s turning, it’s turning miles.

“When you see the highlights and the ball skidding on you, we don’t see the build-up: when the exact same ball is spinning miles,” Cook stated.