"I Sensed Panic After...": Rohit Sharma's Blunt Assessment Of Delhi Test Win

Travis Head's onslaught on the second evening of the Delhi Test had caused "panic" in the Indian camp but skipper Rohit Sharma had a long chat with his three spinners to ensure the hosts did not waver from their original plans. With his attacking 39 not out, Head, opening the innings for the first time in the absence of injured David Warner, surprised the hosts and took Australia to 61 for one at close of play on day two of the second Test. Rohit sensed panic, prompting him to speak to his seasoned spin trio of R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel before start of play on Sunday morning.

In the end, the feared combination of Ashwin and Jadeja ensured a six-wicket win for India, as Australia's mindless aggression backfired on a low and slow Kotla track.

"Sometimes you got to keep it simple and not complicate too much about what is happening. Yesterday they were about 62 (61) for one in 12 overs which is more than five runs per over. I could see we were panicking a little and we were trying to change fields way too many times.

"In the morning, I just wanted to tell those three guys (spinners) to keep it calm. We don't need to change field as often as we did last evening. We keep it there, we keep it tight, and let batters make that mistake.

"I could sense it they wanted to play that way (aggressive) and that wicket was not where you could come out and just keep playing the shots," said Rohit in the post-match media interaction.

Jadeja, who ended with a match haul of 10 wickets, and Ashwin kept on targetting the stumps and Australia self-destructed with the majority of their batters falling to sweep or reverse sweep.

"You got to find balance and try and put them under pressure. If they are playing some shots, we are not