IND vs AUS 2022-23: India tightened its grip over Australia, winning the second Delhi Test by six wickets. Meanwhile, Rahul Dravid hailed Rohit Sharma as a true leader who cares about the side.
On Sunday, India head coach Rahul Dravid said the team was "fortunate" to have someone like senior opener Rohit Sharma taking over the captaincy from a player of the calibre of Virat Kohli. Rohit took over after Kohli quit as India's Test captain following a series defeat in South Africa in January 2021.
Hailing Rohit's captaincy after India retained the Boder-Gavaskar Trophy with a six-wicket win over Australia in the second Test here on Sunday, Dravid said the Mumbaikar has the respect of the dressing room. "He is one of those guys who has been there long. He is the kind of person who doesn't speak a lot, but when he does, they all listen. He deeply cares a lot about the dressing room and the players. We are fortunate to have Rohit take over the leadership from someone like Virat," Dravid said after the match.
Skipper Rohit hailed the spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin for "finishing" the job for India. Jadeja returned with a career-best 7/42 and, along with Ravichandran Ashwin (3/59), accounted for all the wickets to bundle out Australia for a paltry 113 in their second innings.
"Looking at how things were yesterday, the way we returned and finished our job was great. Even if we were just one run behind, I felt we were trailing because we had to bat last. The bowlers were fantastic. To take nine wickets today morning is commendable. And then, we finished the job with the bat," Rohit said at the post-match presentation.
From overnight's 61/1, Australia was bundled out in the first session of the third day. "Every game you play in this type of weather contains some moisture. I noticed a lot to offer in the first session, but as it went on, it got slower and there needed to be more bite," Dravid illustrated.
"So, our focus was keeping it tight in the morning, and these guys are the masters of bowling in these conditions. On a pitch like this, people need to do something different. We were prepared for them to come out and play shots. Our idea was not to panic and just hit the right areas, waiting for the mistake to happen, and that's exactly what happened," added Dravid.
Rohit said the partnerships between Jadeja-Virat Kohli and Axar Patel-Ashwin gave them the winning edge. "There are a lot of moments across four innings, but the partnership between Jadeja and Virat, and then Axar-Ash was brilliant. That's a big help because of the balance we have created for ourselves," Dravid thought.
Dravid said: "We wanted to chase something close to 200-225, and that partnership enabled us to get back, or we'd have been trailing." Dravid further said their bowlers leaked too many runs in the final session of day two and credited them for coming back in the first session on Sunday.
"A bit of a downer to concede too many runs in the evening, we bowled probably wrong and were all over the place, and they came hard at us, but we course-corrected this morning. It was just brilliant then how the game moved," reckoned Dravid.
Sweep is not a good option on Kotla track: Jadeja
Australia's ploy to tackle spin with pre-determined sweep shots backfired, and player of the match Jadeja said it could have been a better option on the slow and low Kolta track. "These wickets suit me because the oddball spins, and some stay low. I knew they'd play sweeps and reverse sweeps, so my idea was just about keeping it simple and straight," he exemplified.
"I knew they were looking for runs, so the plan was bowling into the stumps. If they make a mistake, I have a chance. Don't think a sweep is a good option against me on this wicket," added Jadeja. The loss dashed Australia's hopes of breaking their 19-year drought to win a series in India.
On his batters getting out to the sweep shot, Australian skipper Pat Cummins said: "Everyone controls their own game. Some balls have your name. But we need a review of the shot choice. Did we do things right? Both games were disappointing, this one in particular. We were ahead in the game, which doesn't often happen in India. This loss hurts," he signed off.
(With inputs from PTI)