 "IND vs AUS 2022-23: Rohit lauds Ashwin, Jadeja; reveals how lesson learnt from Kohli helped win Nagpur Test")
synopsis
Ashwin and Jadeja scripted Australia's collapse in the opening Test in Nagpur as India took a 1-0 lead in the Border-Gavaskar series, defeating the visitors by an inning and 132 runs.
Rohit Sharma, the captain of India, praised the spin bowling duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja and compared captaining them to that of Australia's Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc.
Ashwin and Jadeja scripted Australia's collapse in the opening Test in Nagpur as India took a 1-0 lead in the Border-Gavaskar series, defeating the visitors by an inning and 132 runs.
Rohit also said that the Indian pair always aims to "reach the next level" while playing Tests. "He (Ashwin) looks like a different bowler. I wouldn't say he is an improved bowler, as he was always a good bowler, but he looks different every time he plays Test cricket. That's what good cricketers do. They try and up their game and try to reach the next level," said Rohit.
In addition to picking up his 31st five-for and a match tally of eight wickets, Ashwin hit a personal milestone of 450 wickets in Test cricket.
Asked about the feeling of captaining a side that has Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar Patel in its ranks, Rohit replied, "It's like captaining (Pat) Cummins, (Josh) Hazlewood and (Mitchell) Starc in Australia. Pretty similar. When you have the quality of Axar, Jadeja, and Ash, having played in India for so many years, playing on pitches like these, it's always a blessing."
Rohit, who scored a century and laid the platform for a 400-run total, said pitch conditions are the same for everyone, but what makes the three India spinners special is their ability to extract the maximum out of the wicket.
"Conditions are there for everyone, but what they extract from those conditions makes them really, really special. They have played on these pitches a lot and they know which areas to hit, how to keep applying that pressure."
Learnings from Kohli
Rohit said that during Virat Kohli's stint as captain, he had picked up some tips on how to play spinners.
"When Virat was captaining, I noticed one thing, no matter if we got a wicket or not, the pressure had to be there so that the opposition made a mistake. That's what I learnt when Virat was captaining, and these guys were bowling. That's what I am trying to do now. Apply pressure and don't expect wickets every ball; it's not going to happen like that, but if it happens, nothing like it. We've got to be at it and keep putting the ball in the right areas and let the pitch help you," the Indian skipper added.
Juggling three seasoned pros
One spinner tends to get under-bowled when there are three in the team. When Rohit mentioned his "worries" while alternating between Ashwin, Axar, and Jadeja, it made people laugh.
"It's a little tough. They are all reaching their personal milestones. Jadeja was on 249 wickets and he was telling me, 'mere ko ball de' (give me the ball). Ashwin was on four wickets and he wanted a five-for and that was the challenge I was facing. I really don't know too much about milestones but these guys know about it, so yeah that's the challenge of captaining them rather than deciding which end to give them or not," said Rohit as everyone had a hearty laugh. Again the three guys are quality and, you know, whichever end is more helpful, all these spinners want to bowl from that end. But pressure is always on me to find the right end for the right one," Rohit added.
What did Ashwin do and the Aussies didn't
Ashwin had enviable match figures of 8/79 from 27.5 overs sent down in two innings. Compared with the Australian off-spin duo of Nathan Lyon (1 wicket) and Todd Murphy (7 wickets), who together sent down 96 overs, one need not scratch his head to know who is the better bowler in Indian conditions.
"Ashwin has played so much cricket in India and is closing in on playing 100 Tests (89). I am pretty sure he has played most of those Tests in India and not to forget the first-class games as well before he made his debut," Rohit explained.
"A lot of cricket and overs have gone into skills and being able to do what he is doing now; to be able to extract something out of pitch, it is not easy. He can bowl that carrom ball and top spin and slider. The guy has got everything. The reason he is able to extract (so much) from the pitches is because of (the) skill-sets that he has. He is a very studious guy and likes to understand his game and take it to the next level," he further noted.
Rating the knock
While the captain refused to compare Rohit's 120 in Nagpur to the 161 he scored at Chepauk against England in 2021, the batsman may have scored one of his best Test hundreds.
"I keep it where it is," he curtly replied when asked where he would rank the knock among his nine Test hundreds.
"Honestly, I am not too much into rating one knock above the other. Every time you play a knock like that, it is important, so putting one knock above the other is unfair. Both have come under different circumstances. In Chennai, we were one Test match down. We had to win. And, especially in home conditions, when you are one-down, you are under pressure to do things right. Both (centuries) had their own challenges and I am very happy with the two knocks. When you come up with performances like these, you really feel good about it; it gives you lot of confidence also," he concluded.
(With inputs from PTI)
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