IND vs SA 2nd Test: Shut your mouth about Indian pitches, says Rohit Sharma

The Newlands wicket in Cape Town saw the match end in 642 deliveries, making it the shortest-ever Test match in the history of cricket

Furious with the Newlands wicket, where the second India vs South Africa Test lasted for just 642 deliveries and ended in two days, India skipper Rohit Sharma lambasted the critics of Indian spin-friendly wickets. Though India came out victorious by seven wickets in the game, Rohit was not at all impressed with the wicket in Cape Town.

'I don’t mind playing on pitches like this as long as everyone keeps their mouth shut in India and doesn’t complain about Indian pitches. You come here to challenge yourself. And when people come to India it is challenging as well,' cricket journalist Firdose Moonda quotes Rohit as saying in the post-match press conference on Thursday, January 4, 2023.

Rohit also presented the case of the Ahmedabad wicket, which was rated average for the ODI World Cup final. Saying that everybody cries 'puff of dust' in India, Rohit said that a batter had scored a century on that very wicket, which the ICC rated average. 'I still can’t believe that the World Cup final was rated below average. A batter got a hundred. How can that be a poor pitch?,' Rohit said.

Also Read: India vs South Africa 2nd Test proves shortest long-format match in history

In the Newlands Test, India breached the Cape Town fortress for the first time as they registered their maiden win at the venue in their eighth attempt.

What did the Proteas coach say about the wicket?

Shukri Conrad, the Proteas red-ball coach, too termed the wicket as 'not ideal', saying that he apologised to South African batter Tristan Stubbs for giving him his debut on such a challenging wicket. 'I apologised to Stubbo after the game for giving him a debut on a wicket like this,' Moonda quoted Shukri as saying in the post-match press conference.

However, Conrad also backed the pitch curator Braam Mong, saying that good people make mistakes after all. 'Braam is a good guy. Sometimes good guys get things wrong. This doesn't turn Braam into a rubbish groundsman,' said the coach, whose team was twice bowled out in a total of 60.1 overs only.