India vs England, Second Test: Rohit Sharma's 161, Ajinkya Rahane's 67 help India reach 300/6 on Day 1
CHENNAI: Reproducing the pitch at the nets by creating rough areas to give spinners that extra grip and zip, batsmen stretching forward in defence, using their feet to smother the turn, sweeping, et al. These were some of the drills Indian batsmen went about during the three-day break before the second Test.
The perks of playing at home is that you can mould the texture of the surface to your liking. But the perils of backfiring always lingers.
India's primary objective was to put some run on board, something that would matter now after batting first on a wicket that has shown glimpses of 'rank turner'.
Those drills and the urge to score paid off on Day One as opener Rohit Sharma scored 161 and India 300 for 6. He also shared a 162-run partnership with Ajinkya Rahane for the fourth wicket to rescue India after a slight wobble in the first session after losing Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli in space of six balls in two overs.
If Root's knock in the first Test set up England a perfect platform, Rohit has given India one here. On a pitch where other batsmen were not in complete control and there is enough grip and turn for the spinners, Rohit played an innings to savour.
Natural shot-making at times and at times cautious Rohit paced his innings well. He slowed down in the second session (scored only 52 runs) as India needed some stability. A complete contrast to how he began in the first session.
Even though India lost Shubman Gill, Rohit got runs at a brisk pace. They had devised their strategy around it, where Rohit and Gill were given the licence to go for the shots and not let England attack, especially the spinners, settle.
After all, run-making is easier when the pitch is stable. "We wanted to make sure we used our feet a lot more and made sure we swept the ball. When you play on turning pitches, you have to be proactive. You cannot be reactive. Getting on top of the bowler and making sure you are ahead of him was very crucial. The preparation really helped," Rohit said.
England sensed the pitch had turn on offer and brought in Jack Leach as early as the ninth over, but instead of letting him build pressure, gave him a spread outfield. It ensured Rohit and Pujara rotated the strike as the opener brought up his 50 off just 47 balls inside 90 minutes.
It is hard to contain Rohit, especially when he is in the mood to play shots. It offers him to choose the bad balls and play around with the field.
Although all his Test centuries have come at home, six out of seven centuries have been 150-plus tells you how much he feeds on such surfaces. There's another side to Rohit and Rahane's partnership.
Coming into the Test, both were under pressure after a series of low scores. But the composure they showed in the second session stood out. "When you play on a pitch like that which might do something every ball, you have to look to score runs by rotating the strike and using your feet," Rohit said.
For a side that doesn't have batsmen who sweep, Rohit is an exception and he showed how productive that shot can be to have in the armoury, especially on pitches like this.
"Sweep is something that can frustrate a bowler if you are playing that shot well. If you play that, there is not much a bowler can do or pitch can do. It was a percentage shot to play because he was bowling outside off-side and lbw doesn't come into play. When he bowled on stumps, I wanted to use my feet and cover the spin. Get my feet towards the ball." As far as Rahane goes, this wasn't a pitch to his liking, as the ball wasn't coming on to the bat. But like Rohit, he showed the intent to play the shots.
The duo's efforts ensured India have a total on board that could be hard to surpass.