20 October,2024 06:22 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma (Pic: File Pic)
Team India skipper Rohit Sharma heaped praises on Rachin Ravindra for his match-winning performances during the first Test match at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium.
Rachin Ravindra was also named as the "Player of the Match" for his stellar performances which helped New Zealand secure a Test win in India after 36 years.
His 134-run knock helped the "Black Caps" to take a lead of 356 runs after getting India out for just 46 runs. Following his knock, he became the first New Zealand batsman to score a Test century in India after 12 years, after Ross Taylor's ton back in 2012.
Despite Indian spinners challenging Rachin, Rohit Sharma praised him for playing his shots confidently.
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"Our spinners tried and did everything possible to extract whatever was there on the pitch. Some of the shots that Rachin played were really really good. He played very good cricket and played well against the spinners. They challenged him but you got to give him credit. He understood what our spinners tried to do and did not back off from playing his natural game, which is what gave him the result against our quality spinners," Rohit Sharma reflected about Ravindra in the press conference.
Reflecting on how visiting teams manage to score runs in India, Rohit Sharma also mentioned Ollie Pope's remarkable 196-run innings that led England to a 28-run victory at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
"There will be times when some of the batters who come to India will play against our spinners. We saw in the first Test of the England series where a couple of the batters scored hundred," Rohit said.
"Even here, Rachin and Devon Conway played well and put our bowlers under pressure by playing different shots which we are expecting from their batters. Anyone who is coming to India is trying to put pressure on the Indian bowlers by doing different things but we know exactly what we want to do, they played well, they got the results, they got the runs," Rohit added.
The second Test is set to begin on Thursday, October 24, at the Maharashtra Cricket Stadium.
(With ANI Inputs)
