Rohit Sharma underscored the enormous challenge of batting on the tough surfaces played on in the ongoing Test series against Australia, stating that even during his knock of 120 in Nagpur, he never felt like he was set. The Indian skipper’s masterclass at the VCA Stadium remains the only century scored by either set of batters in a series dominated by spin bowling but while the visitors have twice fallen in a heap, Rohit said the boot could just as easily slip on to the other foot.
Responding to a question on if Australia’s collapses filled him with optimism knowing that his spinners could turn even a dire match situation around, the Indian captain opined the playing conditions meant his own team wasn’t immune to a similar collapse and therefore implored batters to be switched on for every ball.
“Yeah… that’s the beauty of this game and the beauty of all the pitches we are playing on. To be honest, it can happen to us as well, not just them,” Rohit said on Tuesday (February 28) on the eve of the Indore Test. “I was talking to Rahul [Dravid] bhai the other day and I said, in Nagpur I played close to 200 balls [212] and I never felt like I was set.
“Because when you play on pitches like that, it just takes one ball to probably grip a little more than you expect or keep a little low and you are out. On pitches like this, you are never in and it is the same for us. What has happened to them can happen to us. There have been talks about how we need to be mentally on every ball that we play. We cannot take it for granted or take it lightly even when we bat. Yes, we have quality spinners who can change things around just like that but that does not give us any guarantee that we are going to win the Test match or roll them over in one session. We have got to keep that discipline going.”
While India have had their own share of batting problems with no one besides Rohit in the top-five having scored a fifty yet, they have managed to upstage Australia thanks to their tremendous batting depth in these conditions. The hosts’ designated No.9, Axar Patel, for one is the second-highest run scorer in the series, behind only Rohit. The Indian captain acknowledged that the lower-order’s pedigree will free up those at the top searching for a big score.
“It gives a lot of comfort. We have spoken about this a lot. If you have that kind of depth, some of the guys in the middle and top order can go and play freely as well,” Rohit said. “It gives us the advantage knowing that no matter what the situation of the game is, you’ve got the batting depth to come closer to the opposition target if you are batting second. Even if you are batting first and you are four or five down for not many runs, you know that there’s quality coming and getting you out of that situation, which they have done pretty well in Indian conditions.
“Last game specifically, after being 139/7 from there to get to 260 [262] was a great effort from the lower order. Axar, Jadeja and Ashwin, yes in this team they bat in the lower order but Axar when he plays for his state team, he bats at five. They all are quality batters, just in this team they have to bat in that position. It doesn’t matter whether runs come from top or lower order, eventually the end result for the team is what matters. We are in that stage where we can create that depth with our batting. Even if we are four or five down, we know we have quality batters to follow them who can get runs on the board. Yes the runs have not come from the top order as expected but the quality they bring to the table that is what matters to us. When you have quality like that, they are one or two innings away from producing those big innings for us.”
Having India at 139/7 in Delhi was one of two times Australia were clearly in front. They were ahead again while batting in the third innings after a 12-over period before Stumps on Day 2 brought runs at five runs to the over. Australia then lost their way on the third morning and in the build up to the third Test, Steve Smith suggested that the visitors must learn to slow down the pace of the game when ahead and make India wait a bit more. The batters for example, Smith suggested, could walk away between deliveries to regain their thoughts amidst a brisk spell from the spinners.
Rohit admitted it was a valid tactical point to hustle the opposition with spin and even detailed how it plays out with someone like Jadeja, who is capable of rattling through an entire over in a minute. “Yeah, it comes very naturally to Jadeja. By the time you are walking back to your field, he’s already ready to bowl the next ball. Sometimes it is difficult even for me to adjust the field. If I want to push a guy a couple of yards behind, this guy is already on the run up to bowl,” Rohit said.
“It is a very valid point. When you are trying to gather your thoughts, the last thing you want is to give the opposition enough time to think what they want to do in the middle. These are small tactical things parts of the game which you always need to think about. When the new batter walks in, guys need to be ready in position. The bowler needs to be ready with the ball in hand and not give the new batter enough time to talk and things like that. That is very important. These are things that have been taught to us when we were growing up as kids. Jadeja, you literally have three or four steps and he’s in. It’s a valid point and we’ve spoken about that a lot in our discussions as part of one of our strategies.”
