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India vs England: Rohit Sharma's cheeky Instagram post, "Wondering what would be the pitch like for 4th test"

Rohit Sharma took to his Instagram handle and posted a cheeky caption with his image at the Motera Stadium.

India vs England: Rohit Sharmas cheeky Instagram post, Wondering what would be the pitch like for 4th test

Ahmedabad, March 1: Senior India cricketer Rohit Sharma is busy preparing for the upcoming fourth and final Test against England starting March 4 at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad. While there is confusion over how the pitch is going to behave after the previous game's track which aided the spinners from day one has been facing a lot of criticism, Rohit has too joined the debate with a funny take on the entire matter.

The right-handed India opener - who achieved his career-best Test Rankings for batsmen following his heroics in the pink-ball Test against England - took to his Instagram handle and posted a cheeky caption with his image at the Motera Stadium.

The 33-year-old cricketer could be seen lying on the ground in training gear and captioned it: "Wondering what would be the pitch like for 4th test".

The post could be understood as nothing but a funny take at all those who have been criticising the pitch after the second Test ended in just 140 overs, which England lost by 10 wickets.

While several former England players have criticised the pitch, there have been others like former Australia captain Ian Chappell and West Indies batting legend Vivian Richards who questioned the technique of the English batsmen. Former England captains like Michael Vaughan and Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook and a section of the British media has been severely criticising the pitch.

Viv Richards also is not amused with past and present English cricketers "moaning and groaning" about the spin-friendly pitches in India and said the visitors did not prepare well for the challenge.

"I've been asked questions recently about the Test match that was played in India, the second and third Test match against England. "And I am a little confused about the question really because there seems to be a lot of moaning and groaning about the wicket that they were playing on," Richards said in a video posted on his Facebook page.

"I just felt that the ones who are moaning, in my opinion, should realise that there are times that you're going to get a seaming track, a ball that is basically jumping off a good length and everyone thinks that's a problem for batters," he reasoned.

The 68-year-old pointed out that playing in India has mostly been about tackling quality spinners and that England may not have done their homework properly ahead of the tour. Weighing in on the debate, the batting great said, "... But now you've seen the other side, and this is why I think it was given the name Test match cricket, because of the test of the mind and will and everything else that goes with it when you're competing.

"And the complaints have been that the wicket is spinning too much and all that sorts of stuff. This is another side of the coin guys. "People seem to forget that if you're going to India, you should expect that. You are going to spin land. You should basically prepare yourself to know what you're going to encounter."

Richards said that India have pushed England out of their comfort zone, weeks after the visitors started the series with a big win. "Ever since that first Test match, England were in their comfort zone. They have now been taken out of their comfort zone at present and they have got to find ways and means to cope with what they are going to encounter.

"Spin is also a part of the game, this is what a Test match brings. The Indian pacers have been brilliant over the past few years in terms of substance, the wicket-taking ability and stuff like that."

Story first published: Monday, March 1, 2021, 14:49 [IST]
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