"In England, You Never Feel In But...": Rohit Sharma's Admission Ahead Of WTC Final

05.06.2023 - 11:33 sports.ndtv.com

His only Test hundred outside the sub-continent came at the Oval in 2021 and India captain Rohit Sharma says one never feels "in" as a batter in English conditions but somehow develops an intuition as to when to attack the opposition bowling.

Ahead of the World Test Championship final against Australia starting Wednesday, the Indian skipper, who has enjoyed the best batting average in his team (50 plus) since the inception of the tournament, feels that there is no substitute for hard grind on English tracks. "Look, I think, in England in general, it's pretty challenging conditions for batters.

As long as you are prepared to have a good grind, you can have success," Rohit said during an ICC event 'Afternoon With Test Legends' here on Sunday.

Rohit, who was India's best batter in four Tests in 2021 against England, spoke about his personal experience while seated alongside Pat Cummins, Ross Taylor and Ian Bell. "One thing I realised in 2021, you are never in (set) and the weather keeps changing.

cricket Australia Cricket Team India Cricket Team Pat Cummins Rohit Sharma Ross Taylor Britain Australia India

After Australia skipper Pat Cummins disagreed with Rohit Sharma's desire to play a three-match series in the next cycle of the World Test Championship final, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has also criticised the India captain for coming up with such a suggestion and stated that every team should be mentally prepared before playing such big events. India lost against Australia by 209 runs in the WTC final at The Oval on Sunday after they were bundled out for 234, in the chase of 444.

After WTC Final Failure, Rohit Sharma's Big ODI World Cup Declaration

Skipper Rohit Sharma spoke about his team's mindset and strategy after India got thrashed by Australia by 209 runs on Sunday in the World Test Championship final at The Oval. India were chasing a whopping total of 444 and were bundled out for 234 on Day 5, with Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland scalping four and three wickets respectively. This loss deprived Team India of winning another ICC trophy and their decade-long wait continues. India won their last ICC trophy under the captaincy of MS Dhoni, when they lifted the Champions Trophy in 2013.

"Got More Angles In IPL": Rohit Sharma Blasts WTC Organisers Over Shubman Gill's Controversial Dismissal

Sunday turned out to be nightmare for Team India as they faced a 209-run defeat against Australia on Day 5 of the World Test Championship final at The Oval. Chasing a whopping total of 444, Team India needed 280 runs to win on the final with seven wickets in hand. However, Australia's bowling attack completely dominated the Rohit Sharma-led side and bundled them out for 234. After the match ended, India skipper Rohit Sharma opened up on the controversial dismissal of opening batter Shubman gill on Scott Boland's delivery on Day 4.

Three-Match Series For WTC Final? Rohit Sharma's 'Ideal' Idea For ICC Tournament

Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma believes that the World Test Championship (WTC) Final can be a third-match series in the future after India were beaten in the summit clash by Australia at the Oval on Sunday. India lost seven wickets in the first session of Day 5 as Australia registered a brilliant 209-run win. In the aftermath of the match, Rohit was asked about possible changes to the WTC Final format and the India skipper believes that the summit clash of the tournament need not be one game.

"Didn't Apply Ourselves...": Rohit Sharma's Brutal Verdict On WTC Final Loss

Indian cricket team skipper Rohit Sharma made it clear that the batter were not able to perform well at The Oval and they failed to show promise at the World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia on Sunday. India had eight batters with scores between 40 and 49 but most of them were not able to convert it into a big innings. It proved to be costly for the Rohit-led side as they were beaten comprehensively in the summit clash. The India skipper added that the bowlers did have plans against Steve Smith and Travis Head but there did not work and that proved to be a turning point.

WTC Final: "India Have Picked Wrong Side" - Australia Great Cuts No Slack In Blasting Rohit Sharma And Co

The great Steve Waugh has become the latest former cricketer to question India's team selection for the World Test Championship final against Australia, saying they have "picked the wrong side" by not including Ravichandran Ashwin on a tricky pitch. World Cup-winning Australian captain Waugh's assessment comes after the likes of Sourav Ganguly, Ricky Ponting and Sanjay Manjrekar expressed their surprise at the Indian team management's decision to take to the field at The Oval without senior off-spinner Ashwin, currently the world's number one bowler in Tests.