Rohit Sharma praised the strength and variety of his bowling team after India’s impressive 280-run victory over Bangladesh in the first Test in Chennai. Despite returning to Test cricket after six months away, India found successful strategies in both innings.
The fast bowlers led by Jasprit Bumrah, dominated the first innings by bowling the visitors out for 149 while R. Ashwin made a strong comeback in the second innings, taking six wickets and scoring a century in the first.
“No matter what the conditions are, whether we play in India or outside, we want to build the team around [bowling],” Rohit said after the match. “Whatever the conditions offer, we need to be ready. In the last few years, wherever we’ve played, we’ve had the right options, whether it’s fast bowling or spin. You have to credit the players; when there’s a responsibility, they always step up to get the job done for the team.”
The Chennai pitch posed a new challenge for bowlers with its red soil that provided good pace and bounce during the first two days. The spinners, who took only five of the first 24 wickets, had to adjust their strategy before the pitch started to spin more on the last day.
Rohit stressed the need for patience with both bat and ball, while Ashwin, who took six wickets in the fourth innings but conceded more than four runs an over, explained the pitch’s specific conditions.
“Look, I think this pitch will give runs even for good bowling. But the bounce can be quite tricky,” he said. “We’ve lost many red soil pitches over the years, which used to be important for Test cricket in India. The good thing about red soil is that if you put spin on it, there’s value and bounce. You might get hit, but you’ll still get bounce.
In addition, Rohit also praised Rishabh Pant, who returned to Test cricket with a century after missing 14 matches due to injuries from a car crash in December 2022.
