Ahead of the start of the first Test match between India and Australia in Nagpur, Australian media outlets and former cricketers accused India of doctoring the pitch in order to produce a rank-turner.
However, the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma while addressing the reporters ahead of the first Test silenced the critics by adding that it is important to focus on the match rather than the pitch.
The Australian cricket team literally struggled to dictate the tempo in the first innings. The visitors were bowled out for 177 runs as the majority of the batters fell prey to the spinners.
Ravindra Jadeja took five wickets to his name, in what was his eleventh fifer in Test cricket whereas Ravichandran Ashwin took three wickets to his name. The likes of Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami took a wicket each.
Irfan Pathan questions the logic behind Mark Waugh’s take on the Nagpur pitch
The former Indian pace bowler, Irfan Pathan made the headlines after he gave an epic reply to Mark Waugh’s take on the Nagpur pitch. The former Australian cricketer conceded that it is not really about how much the ball turns but it is the inconsistent turn.
He further added that one goes straight whereas one spins quite a bit, which is why the batter gets into trouble according to Mark Waugh. Meanwhile, Irfan Pathan immediately came up with a fitting response as he said it is simply the quality of the bowlers.
Mark Waugh perhaps realized that Irfan Pathan totally made sense in his statement as he went on to reserve the highest respect for Ravindra Jadeja’s bowling performance. Jadeja who was out of competitive action for a long time made a stellar comeback to the national cricket team.
Jadeja got rid of Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Matt Renshaw, Todd Murphy and Peter Handscomb on Day 1 of the Nagpur Test.
