Pragyan Ojha spoke exclusively to Hindustan Times on the sidelines of the Legends League Cricket in Doha on the pitch talk that has been the focus of the Border-Gavaskar series.
The fourth Test match between India and Australia is being played yesterday at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium (Match 9). Steve Smith, Australia’s captain, has won the toss and elected to bat first. India leads the Test series 2-1 with one match remaining.
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The Border-Gavaskar Trophy series continues to be centered on the pitch banter. The third Test match between India and Australia was played last week on the Indore track, which the International Cricket Council (ICC) deemed “poor.” This time, the match is being played on the Ahmedabad track, and an Australian legend has attacked the hosts for choosing one of the two pitches laid out for the fourth Test at the last minute.
Some seasoned cricketers have criticized the Rohit Sharma-led team for advocating for turning pitches as a desperate attempt to make the World Test Championship final among the barrage of criticism leveled against India over the past few days.
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“Everyone has the option of playing to their strength”: Pragyan Ojha
Former India spinner Pragyan Ojha was dissatisfied with the remark, pointing out that all three matches had outcomes, with the last tie even establishing a degree of competition between the two teams.
“What is the definition of Test cricket? It is a test of your skill, and your mental and physical strength. The beauty of home and away series is that when you go to somebody’s home, you face a different challenge which you have not faced. When we go to SENA countries the challenges are different, similarly for those teams when they come to India. In SENA countries, the wickets are slightly greener, there is some lateral movement. In Australia there is a little bit of bounce” Pragyan Ojha said in an interview with Hindustan Times .
“In the subcontinent, the track helps the spinners. So calling India desperate in that aspect, I wouldn’t agree to it because everyone has the option of playing to their strength. It’s just a strategy and it helps in making the game more exciting” Pragyan Ojha said.
“I really like the way Rohit Sharma said, when you play a full five-day Test match, there is a lot of people have said that the wickets were not good in other countries and it was not giving any result, so when you get result and see some excitement in the game, that is what you are here for” Pragyan Ojha Added.
In terms of the World Test Championship, the game is crucial, and if India win, they will join Australia in the final, which is set to take place at The Oval in June. Even a loss won’t ruin India’s prospects of qualifying, but much will depend on the result of the Test series between Sri Lanka and New Zealand, which also begins on Thursday.
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