We are very lucky to have Rohit to take over as captain after someone like Virat: Dravid
India head coach Rahul Dravid on Sunday said the team is “very lucky” to have someone of the caliber of Rohit Sharma to take over the captaincy from someone of Virat Kohli’s stature. Kohli stepped down as captain in January 2021 after losing the Test series against South Africa. After retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a six-wicket win in the second Test against Australia on Sunday, Dravid praised Rohit’s captaincy, saying the Mumbaikar is respected by everyone in the dressing room.
Dravid said, “He is one of those players who has been in the team for a long time. The kind of person who doesn’t speak much but when he does, everyone listens. He cares a lot about the dressing room and the players. We are very fortunate that Rohit took over the leadership from someone like Virat. Captain Rohit credited the spin bowling duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin for helping India win the match. Jadeja did his best in the second innings, taking seven wickets for 42 runs.
He took a total of 10 wickets in the match while Ashwin took three wickets each in both the innings. In front of the spin of Jadeja and Ashwin, Australia’s second innings was reduced to just 113 runs. Rohit said at the award ceremony after the match, “Looking at the situation a day before, we can say that the way we came back was fantastic.” He said, “In the first innings we were just one run away. We were behind but I felt that we were far behind because we had to bat in the fourth innings.
He said, “The performance of the bowlers was excellent. Taking nine wickets this morning is commendable. And then we got our job done with the bat. He said, “There were many such ups and downs in these four innings but I think after Jadeja and Kohli, Akshar Patel and Ashwin had a great partnership. This turned the match towards us. ”Man of the match Jadeja said that Australia opted to play sweep shot against them which was not right.
He said, “Such a pitch suits my bowling as some balls spin and some stay low. I knew they would play sweep and reverse sweep, so was focusing on keeping the ball straight. Was. If they make a mistake, I have a chance. I don’t think sweep is a good option against me on this kind of wicket.
The defeat extended Australia’s 19-year wait to win a series in India. After the batsmen were dismissed on sweep shots, Australia captain Pat Cummins said, “Everyone controls their game in their own way, some balls have your name written (to get out). But we need a review on shot selection, have we done the right thing? In this match, we put pressure on India and it doesn’t happen often in India. We couldn’t keep it up.
