The track for the Rajkot Test, which was praised by England's skipper Alastair Cook, came under some serious criticism from his counterpart Virat Kohli
India's captain Virat Kohli with his England counterpart Alastair Cook during the Rajkot Test. Pic/AFP
India's captain Virat Kohli with his England counterpart Alastair Cook during the Rajkot Test. Pic/AFP
The u00c2u0080u00c2u0088way the first Test between India and England ended at the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) Stadium in Rajkot yesterday, it is pretty apparent that the hosts can't prepare rank turners for the remaining matches of the series. Whatever notion one had about England's spinners and their batsmen's ability to play spin have been thrown out of the window.
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Ammo in both camps
India's strength lies in their batting and spin department but the England team have showed that they not only have a formidable batting unit, but their spinners too have been more effective in generating more spin, bounce and trajectory in this Test.
So, the track in Rajkot, which was praised by England's skipper Alastair Cook, came under some serious criticism from his counterpart Virat Kohli, who said, "I was quite surprised to see so much of grass on it to be honest, it shouldn't have been the case." But Cook didn't have any such concerns. He praised spin bowling coach — former Pakistan offie Saqlain Mushtaq — for bringing about a change in the approach of England's spin trio.
"It was a brilliant performance by our three spinners. There was a lot of criticism for their performance on turning wickets in Bangladesh. This one (pitch) was flatter than the wickets in Bangladesh, but we still bowled a lot better.
Saqlain influence
"We learned a lot and he (Saqlain) has made a massive difference for those guys. Now, we are talking of having a chance in this series," added Cook. Despite England's improvement from their Bangladesh tour, Kohli believed the England spinners never outperformed the Indians. "I think they (the England spinners) bowled well, but I don't think they outperformed us. It is not that they got fifers or completely turned the game around. If they have outperformed our spinners then they should have won the game for them."
30
Number of Test centuries Alastair Cook has scored
49
Virat Kohli's second highest Test score vs England in 10 Tests
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