India are all set to play their 3rd Test match against England in Motera Stadium, Gujarat, starting on Feb 24 and Rohit Sharma feels it's going to produce another turner, similar to what we saw in Chennai.
Talking to reporters ahead of the Test, the explosive opener said, "Even though it's early days to talk about the pitch but I don't see anything changing in the pitch from what we played on in the second Test match. We are more or less going to be on the same page, it's going to be turning as well. But yes, when the day comes, we still have to assess the pitch as no international game has been played on this ground for a long time."
He went on add, “We are professional cricketers. I don’t think we should stress so much on the pitch’s quality. Both teams get to play on the same pitch. When there are challenging pitches you might fail but what’s more important is you learn from that!”
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Rohit, who had played his only pink ball Test back in 2019 against Bangladesh, acknowledged that playing in the twilight would be a new experience for him since he had never batted during the transitory hours.
"In the only pink ball Test I played I didn't bat during the hours when the Sun sets and the light changes. I only heard from players that it plays on your mind as the weather changes slightly. It's the time when the second session starts at 5-5.30pm. So we just need to keep talking to ourselves and be extra cautious. This is what batters who batted in that phase have told me," Rohit pointed.
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India are currently tied 1-1 in the 4-match series and will need at least one more win and a draw in the next two matches to qualify for the World Test Championship final in Lord's, slated to start on June 18. Rohit, however, felt this would be the last thing on anyone's mind when they take the field in the 3rd Test.
"When we are playing we must not focus on the outside. We need to get the job done inside and then focus on the outside. We of course want to be there playing the finals but we still need to do a lot of things right to get there. Our focus should be on how to win the next game and what to do as individuals to bring the team to top position. We still have two matches and there are small steps we need to take for that. So, we will see how it goes," Rohit added.