Pace Great Slams Ranchi Pitch As Rohit Sharma-led India Crumble vs England, Wonders Why Jasprit Bumrah Is Rested

24.02.2024 - 17:09 sports.ndtv.com

The Indian cricket team got a rude shock on the second day of the fourth Test against England in Ranchi on Saturday. Their famed batting line-up was no match for England's bowling.

After the visitors put up a 353, courtesy Joe Root's unbeaten 122, much was expected from the Indian batters. However, barring Yashasvi Jaiswal's 73 off 117 balls, none of the the batters including Rohit Sharma could score big.

It raised a lot of question on the reason behind India's debacle. "I mainly tweet about England- but looking at India. They're an amazing team on flat Test pitches in India where their spinners skill comes into it & they out bowl other teams.

Playing on pitches that roll along the floor brings in the opposition so much more. I can't understand why they've prepared a pitch like this?" Stuart Broad posted on X.

cricket India Cricket Team England Cricket Team India vs England 2024 as Rohit Sharma India

The Mumbai Indians will have fresh look in the IPL 2024 with Hardik Pandya leading the five-time champions. The change in captaincy from Rohit Sharma to Pandya has been a hotly debated topic on social media. Rohit Sharma led the side to five title but before the IPL 2024, MI sprung a surprise by recruiting back Pandya from Gujarat Titans. Hardik Pandya had left Mumbai Indians earlier to join Gujarat Titans as skipper. Parthiv Patel, former Indian cricket team wicketkeeper and ex-Mumbai Indians, shared an interesting incident in the Mumbai Indians camp during his time with the side.

"Big Controversy": South Africa Great On Hardik Pandya Replacing Rohit Sharma As Mumbai Indians Captain

In the upcoming Indian Premier League season, it is Hardik Pandya who will be leading five-time champions Mumbai Indians. In December last year, MI traded Hardik in an all-cash deal from Gujarat Titans and later named him the skipper. Rohit, who led MI to five titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020, will be there in the team but no more the captain. Speaking on the surprise change made by Mumbai, South Africa great AB de Villiers said that it created "big controversy".

"Don't Confuse Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma Captaincy": England Great's Intriguing 'Laidback' Verdict

Former England cricketer Nasser Hussain on Tuesday said that sometimes people confuse the India skipper Rohit Sharma as a "laidback" player. The 36-year-old had a stupendous series against England, he scored 400 runs after playing all five matches at a strike rate of 64.21. The India skipper also slammed 2 centuries against the travelling side. While speaking to Sky Sports, Nasser said that Rohit has a lot of "skill, and brilliance" with his batting. Talking about the recently concluded five-match Test series between India and England, the 55-year-old said that Rohit had a great series as a skipper.

Ravichandran Ashwin Replaces Jasprit Bumrah At Top Of ICC Test Rankings

A nine-wicket haul in his 100th Test match helped Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin re-claim the top spot in the bowlers' list, while his captain Rohit Sharma was back in the top-10 at sixth in the batting charts of the latest ICC rankings on Wednesday. Ashwin was at his best throughout the Dharamsala contest against England as the experienced right-armer picked up four wickets in the first innings and then a 36th five-wicket haul in the second innings as India cruised to a dominant triumph in the fifth and final Test of their series.

Jasprit Bumrah, Virat Kohli, Others Will Get Rs 100 Crore In IPL: Ex-CSK Star Claims If There's No Purse Cap

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 is fast approaching. The teams are ready with their squads for the prized trophy in the richest cricket tournament in the world. While some squads are pretty much similar to last edition, there are certain teams who went for some big buys in the IPL 2024 auction held last year. Australians Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc went to SunRisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 20 crore-plus amounts. This was the first time that the Rs 20 crore mark was breached.

Explained: How Rohit Sharma's Team India Shred England's 'Bazball' To Pieces

The thumping series win over England on sporting pitches was not only one of India's finest at home, it also reaffirmed their supremacy in the longest format with young and old combining to smash 'Bazball' out of the park. The likes of Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami were not available throughout and injuries to KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja after the shock loss in the series opener threatened India's enviable dominance at home but Rohit and Co found a way to put pressure back on their aggressive opposition over the next four games.