Don’t mind being on pitches like this as long as everyone keeps their mouth shut in India and no-one is talking about pitches there: Rohit Sharma on Newlands wicket

India skipper Rohit Sharma called for a fair review of Indian pitches which more often than not receive criticism as compared to the pitches of other countries.

This comment came from Sharma after the Newlands Test ended in one and a half days with 33 wickets falling and India walking away with a historic victory which levelled the series 1-1.

“I don’t mind being on pitches like this as long as everyone keeps their mouth shut in India and no-one is talking about the pitches there,” Rohit said on Thursday after the match. “Yes it is dangerous, but you come here (South Africa) to challenge yourself and you must face up to it,” he added.

Sharma also called out the match referees and pointed out there’s inconsistency in the way the officials rate pitches in different countries.

𝘼 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙬𝙞𝙣! ⚡️ ⚡️#TeamIndia beat South Africa by 7⃣ wickets in the second #SAvIND Test to register their first Test win at Newlands, Cape Town. 👏 👏

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/PVJRWPfGBE pic.twitter.com/vSMQadKxu8

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 4, 2024

“In India, when it turns on day one, people say ‘Oh, there is a puff of dust’. We need to stay neutral, especially match referees. I would love to see how the pitches are rated. I still can’t believe the World Cup final pitch was rated below standard. A player got a hundred there. They must rate pitches based on what they see, not based on countries,” he said.

“We know pitches in India will spin but people don’t like it because it turns from ball one. But if it seams from ball one, that is OK? That is not fair,” he added.

Coming to the match, India defeated South Africa by seven wickets to share the honours in the two-match series. Visiting India thus completed a remarkable comeback after losing the first Test in Centurion by an innings and 32 runs.

This is the shortest Test match ever in terms of overs bowled, bettering the previous best that involved Australia and South Africa at the MCG way back in 1932. A total of 106.2 overs were bowled in the match.

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