Rohit Sharma took a dig at the ICC and the British-Australian media for their criticism of Indian pitches following the second Test between India and South Africa, which concluded within two days.
The Indian captain was forthright in his assessment of the Cape Town pitch after the match ended in 107 overs, with only 642 deliveries bowled and 33 wickets fell.
This has happened for the first time in history that the Test match ended quickly in terms of deliveries.
Previously, the Test between Australia and South Africa in 1932 ended in 656 balls (109.2 overs).
Meanwhile, there was no uproar from the British and Australian media on this particular pitch.
Former players and media personalities from England and Australia have consistently been outspoken about Indian pitches. This time, Rohit Sharma responded. He mentioned that he doesn't mind playing on such pitches as long as everyone refrains from commenting negatively when playing in India.
“I don’t mind playing on pitches like this as long as everyone keeps their mouth shut in India & doesn’t complain about Indian pitches. You come here to challenge yourself and when people come to India it is challenging as well,” Rohit Sharma said at the post-match press conference.
With a low and slow Ahmedabad pitch hosting the World Cup Final, ICC gave it a “below average” rating. And for most of Test matches in India, pitches dominate discussions. Australia and England have both struggled in India on spin-friendly pitches.
“World Cup final pitch rated Below Average. I mean a guy scored a hundred. I urge match referees to see what’s there (on the pitch), not the country where it’s played.
“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?
"In India, first day, ‘you talk puff of dust puff of dust’, here there were cracks,” Rohit Sharma added.
India chased down the target of 78 in just 12 overs to level the two-match series after they bowled South Africa out for 176 in the second innings.
In pursuit of a modest target on a challenging pitch, Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal aggressively took charge from the onset, scoring 28 runs off 23 deliveries before being caught on the boundary off Nandre Burger.
Both Shubman Gill (10) and Virat Kohli (12) were dismissed by Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen respectively, prior to Shreyas Iyer securing victory with a boundary off his only scoring shot.
Captain Rohit Sharma remained unbeaten on 16.
Aided by Markram's 106 off 103 balls, South Africa were bowled out for 176 shortly before lunch.
Jasprit Bumrah claimed figures of six for 61, narrowly missing out on dismissing Markram at 71 when the batsman edged a drive, and wicketkeeper KL Rahul couldn't grasp a catch above his head.
Markram tackled a pitch offering pace, significant seam movement, and erratic bounce, where no other teammate managed a score higher than 15 in either innings.
His innings included 17 fours and two sixes, one of which sailed out of the ground and landed on a railway line beyond square leg off Prasidh Krishna.
The 29-year-old opener was eventually caught at mid-off by Sharma off Mohammed Siraj, attempting another expansive shot.
Siraj played a pivotal role in India's victory, claiming figures of six for 15 as South Africa crumbled to 55 all out before lunch on Wednesday.
A total of twenty-three wickets tumbled on the first day.
South Africa won the first Test in Centurion by an innings and 32 runs.
- Rohit Sharma