India get their pitch right to move ahead versus England

Winning on turning tracks may appear to be the easier thing to do, but Rohit’s team has changed tactics and it’s paying off

- Rasesh Mandani

Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid lost an opportunity of a lifetime to win a legacy-building Cup last year. That they stumbled in the final hurdle by misreading a home pitch would rankle for a long time. Now, with Bazball in the air, against formidable England at home, they couldn't afford to make any false moves. And they haven't. Things are finally falling into place after the Rajkot Test win in the ongoing marquee series.

It's now clear that Rohit's verbal tirade in South Africa against match referees for penalising turning tracks in India was little more than a smokescreen. A conscious call was made to go back to traditional Indian tracks, where it is easier to bat to begin with, and the highly skilled spinners would call the shots in the second innings. Without many of the established batters, this would allow the younger Indian batters to find their feet in Test cricket too.

The results have been there for all to see. After 50 runs at an average of 12.50 in South Africa, Yashasvi Jaiswal has transformed his career stats with sensational performances - he has 545 runs in this series with two double-hundreds. Sarfaraz Khan impressed with twin fifties on a good Rajkot pitch. Even Shubman Gill has managed to lift his stuttering career with 252 runs, averaging 42.