Published 21:37 IST, February 16th 2021
Sehwag takes a jibe at England after complaints of Chepauk pitch as action moves to Motera
After rattling England at the Chepauk, India will now travel to Ahmedabad for the remaining two Tests with its eyes set on the World Test Championship finale
As India and England gear up to lock horns in the third Test at Ahmedabad now, former cricketer Virender Sehwag has taken a jibe at the touring party and noise over the Chepauk pitch that ensued as Root & Co. failed to perform. Taking to Twitter, Sehwag shared a joke stating the pitch curator's response to English players when asked if there was going to be less spin in Ahmedabad compared to Chennai. The former India opener attacked a Bollywood movie dialogue as the curator's response, which read, "I can't guarantee that."
After rattling England at the Chepauk on Tuesday, India will now travel to Ahmedabad for the remaining two Tests with its eyes set on the World Test Championship finale. The third Test will be a day-night affair and is expected to offer something for the pacers as well with the pink ball coming into play. Sehwag's dig at the Englishmen comes after several veterans blamed the turning Chepauk pitch as a reason behind the touring party's dismal performance in the second Test.
Noise over Chepauk pitch
Former Australia cricketer Mark Waugh criticized the pitch at Chepauk, terming it 'unacceptable' at Test level. The junior Waugh highlighted that it was not acceptable to have the ball going through the top of the surface on day 1 from the main part of the pitch. On the other hand, spin maestro Shane Warne schooled Michael Vaughan as the latter blamed the pitch for India grabbing the advantage in the ongoing Test.
Warne highlighted that the pitch has been the same since day 1 but England bowlers have failed to bowl brilliantly whereas Indian batsmen have been on top of their game. The duo engaged in a war of words on Twitter as they fought over the part of the pitch in the game so far. Joining the growing chorus against the turning Chepauk pitch, former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen claimed that Team India would have lost the second Test as well had skipper Virat Kohli lost the toss.
Meanwhile, after the match, England skipper Joe Root asserted that the pitch and the toss had no part to play in their defeat. The English skipper added that they had already anticipated the turning behaviour of the pitch and added that winning the toss wouldn't have guaranteed a win either. "The fact is that India have shown that you can score runs on it and have found a way of managing a very tricky surface so we've got to learn from that, add it to our own games and come back better for it," he said.
After losing the first Test in Chennai, India made a strong comeback at Chepauk as they defeated England by 327 runs on Tuesday with a day to spare. Rohit Sharma set the tone for India's victory as the swashbuckling opener smashed 161 runs in the first innings itself helping the hosts take a massive lead. It was then local lad Ravichandran Ashwin who wreaked carnage as he skittled the Englishmen with a five-for and then came back to smash a gritty century.
Updated 21:37 IST, February 16th 2021