Virat Kohli defends pitch after third Test ends in two days

Ahmedabad - Our bowlers were much more effective and that's why we got the result, said Kohli

India captain Virat Kohli defended the spin-friendly pitch in Ahmedabad after his team’s 10-wicket victory over England inside two days of the third Test on Thursday.

Rohit Sharma hit a six to see India to their meagre second innings target of 49 without losing a wicket in the world’s biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.

It was only the second Test in India’s cricket history to end in two days. The last was their thrashing of Afghanistan on their Test debut in Bangalore in 2018.

England were skittled out for 112 and 81 and left-arm spinner Axar Patel has now taken at least five wickets in three of the last four innings of the series. India scored 145 in their first innings.

Spinners from both sides wreaked havoc on the surface where 30 wickets fell in two days, 17 of them in Thursday’s first two sessions of the day-night match.

“It was a very good pitch to bat on, especially in the first innings,” Kohli said after India went 2-1 up in the four-Test series.

“We felt like the ball was coming on nicely with the odd ball turning but it was below-par batting from both teams.

“Our bowlers were much more effective and that’s why we got the result,” added Kohli who has now beaten MS Dhoni’s Indian record of 21 Test wins at home as captain.

Patel was adjudged man-of-the-match for his haul of 11-70.

On a viciously turning track, England captain Joe Root claimed his maiden Test five-wicket haul and fellow spinner Jack Leach completed figures of 4-54.

Kohli pointed out that most of the batsmen fell to deliveries that did not turn.

“It was bizarre that out of the 30 wickets, 21 were off straight balls,” he said.

“I feel that’s just lapse of concentration or indecision or too many things going on in your head as a batter when you are playing for the turn but getting beaten on the inside.

“It was the classic example of batsmen not applying themselves enough, and maybe that’s why it was such a quick game.”

Amid the debate about the pitch, Root said that the surface was “very challenging, very difficult” and that it was up to the International Cricket Council, not the players, to decide whether it was “fit for purpose”.

“I am sure that off the back of this things will get looked at (by the ICC).... It has certainly been a challenging surface, a challenging two surfaces the last two games,” he said.

“It’s a real shame, it’s a fantastic stadium, there are 60,000 people come to watch a brilliant iconic Test match and I feel for them. They have come to watch Virat Kohli face Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad or Jack Leach, and watch Ashwin against our top batters like Ben Stokes. I almost feel like they have been robbed, (that) instead they have had to watch me get wickets, which shouldn’t be the case.”

But he added: “Let’s not hide away from the fact that we have been outplayed here. On this surface we have still been outplayed and we have to accept that.”

Meanwhile, Kohli praised off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who claimed 4-48 en route to reaching 400 Test wickets.

“Getting 400 is an outstanding achievement, and still so many games and years to go for India,” Kohli said.

“In Test match cricket, he is surely a modern legend and we’re just lucky to have him in our team. As a captain I am so pleased he plays for us.”

The result rules England out of contention for the World Test Championship final. India need a win or draw in the fourth and final Test to book their meeting with New Zealand at Lord’s in June.

Ahmedabad also hosts the fourth and final Test starting on March 4.