With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 poised at 2-1 in India’s favour, the action has now moved to Ahmedabad for the fourth and final Test match. While the first three matches were completed in three days, the fourth match is expected to last longer. Meanwhile, as expected, the debate over the pitch has not subsided even slightly.
The Ahmedabad pitch has received as much attention as the previous three matches. While some Indian players have tried to reduce the hype around the wickets curated, their efforts have gone in vain ahead of the crucial match.
On the eve of the match, Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith stated that it was “probably the best-looking batting pitch” of the series. The surface appears to be less dry, with a tinge of green, allowing it to be held for a longer period of time.
When Rohit looked at the pitch during the toss, the expressions on his face told the story. Rohit was left with no choice but to hope that the surface held up after Smith won the toss and chose to bat, as India will bat last.
“Not the surface that we saw in the first three Test matches. It looks like a very good pitch. I don’t know when it’s going to start turning but yeah, looks good. Obviously, I hope it stays this way all five days,” Rohit said with a nervous laugh on his face.
Here is Rohit Sharma’s video
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This is not the first time Rohit has expressed his concerns about the India-Australia Tests not lasting the full five days. After losing the third Test in Indore, Rohit was asked about the matches ending early, and he had an interesting response.
“What can I say about that? People have to play well for the game to last for 5 days. Games are not lasting for 5 days even outside India. Yesterday in South Africa, the game got over within 3 days… Australia as well in the first Test match. So it’s about skills… people have to adapt with skills. If the pitches are helping the bowlers, batters need to try and test their skills. It is not about always making sure that we are playing on flat pitches and then the results don’t come,” Rohit had said.
