Rohit Sharma echoes Virat Kohli on major Ahmedabad Test controversy, fans erupt: WATCH

India secured a sensational ten-wicket win over England in the third Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Courtesy of the commanding win, the hosts have take a 2-1 lead in the India vs England Test series and have bolstered their chances of making it to the World Test Championship (WTC) final that is slated to be played at Lord's in June. England's loss means they have been eliminated from the race to reach the WTC final.

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Rohit Sharma downplays Ahmedabad pitch criticism, pins blame on batsmen's wrong shot selction

Notably, the India vs England 3rd Test ended in two days, which sparked a major discussion about the nature of the pitch, with several former cricketers deeming it 'unfit' for Test cricket. Ever since the second Test in Chennai where the ball spun extensively from Day 1, the discussions about the 'ideal' pitches for Test cricket have started. However, Indian captain Virat Kohli had downplayed all the talks about the Ahmedabad pitch during the post-match presentation talk saying that it was just poor batting.

Now, Rohit Sharma has echoed Kohli's sentiments in the post-match press conference with the media. Sharma said that the pitch was completely fine and very normal. Speaking about what Indian wickets are all about, he added that it was a typical Indian wicket where it turned and the odd ball came in. Sharma reckoned that Indian batters made mistakes by playing wrong shots.

Citing the example of Chennai, Sharma said that at Chepauk, every ball was turning from the rough which wasn't the case in Ahmedabad. The Indian opener reiterated that Axar Patel got most of his wickets with deliveries that were just skidding onto the bat and the batsmen just missed the line which was a mistake that Indian batsmen made as well. According to Sharma, some of the shots they played as a batting unit were not up to the skills that they have.

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It is worth mentioning that Rohit Sharma scored 66 in the first innings and an unbeaten 25 in the second on the so called 'unfit' pitch, thus proving that discussions around the pitch is just an excuse and once a batsman gets their eye in, it's not impossible to score runs on the surface.

Earlier, Kohli had said that the quality of batting was not up to the usual standards. He added it wasn't just England who got bundled out early but even India who were 100/3 at one stage ended up scoring fewer runs that they desired. According to Kohli, it was just lack of application on both sides.

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Kohli further said that the Ahmedabad pitch was a very good pitch to bat on, especially in the first innings as the ball was coming on nicely and only the odd ball was turning. The Indian skipper opined that it was a below-par batting from both teams. According to Kohli, Indian bowlers were much more effective and that's why they ended up on the right side of the result.

Further downplaying the role of the pitch, Kohli asserted that out of 30 wickets, 21 were off straight balls which he called was bizarre. He reckoned that wickets tumbled due to lapse of concentration or indecision as batsmen were playing for the turn but getting beaten on the inside.

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SOURCE: BCCI TWITTER