 "Pitch for 4th Test would be similar to second and third Test, says Rahane")
India's Test deputy Ajinkya Rahane on Tuesday said that the pitch for the fourth Test against England at the Narendra Modi Stadium would be similar to the second and third Test.
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India had managed to defeat England by ten wickets within two days in the third Test at the same venue. The match saw both India and England batsmen failing to shine and getting out to balls that did not turn and skidded through from the spinners.
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But critics have looked to blame the pitch for the failure of the batsmen. India batsman Rohit Sharma clarified that he did not think the pitch had any demons. Even skipper Virat Kohli was vocal about the dreadful batting display from the two teams.
"The wicket would be similar to the third Test and also the second Test what we played in Chennai. The wicket would be similar, yes the pink ball made the difference, it was coming much quicker off the wicket as compared to the red ball. That was an adjustment we had to make but as I said the wicket would be a lot similar to the last two Test matches," Rahane said during a virtual press conference on Tuesday.
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"The pitch looks pretty similar, I do not know how it is going to play, we have to wait and see. We respect England, they are a very good and balanced team. We played really good cricket in the last two Tests. England played really well in the first Test, we are not taking them lightly. It is another Test match, we want to give our best. Even England will want to do well and win the Test match. For us, it is about playing as a unit and playing to our strengths," he added.
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When asked whether DRS has changed the approach of batsmen, Rahane replied: "I do not think so that the approach has changed because of the DRS. It's all in the mind, DRS is really helping all the teams because you can review the decisions and take your chances. But I do not think mentally wise, as a batsmen especially, not many changes.
"It is important to play the line when the ball is turning, but with the pink ball, it was completely different. The ball was skidding on, the pace was different from the red ball. We have hardly played with the pink ball, this was our third game with it, we need to practice more with the pink ball. When you play on spinning tracks, it is all about playing the line," he added.