India head coach Rahul Dravid on Sunday said the team was “very lucky” to have someone like Rohit Sharma taking over the captaincy from a player of the calibre of Virat Kohli.
Rohit took over after Kohli quit as India’s Test captain following a series defeat in South Africa in January 2021.
Hailing Rohit’s captaincy after India retained the Boder-Gavaskar Trophy with a six-wicket win over Australia in the second Test here on Sunday, Dravid said the Mumbaikar has the respect of the dressing room.
“He is one of those guys who has been there a long time. The kind of person who doesn’t speak a lot, but when he does they all listen.
“He deeply cares a lot about the dressing room and the players. We are very lucky to have Rohit take over the leadership from someone like Virat,” Dravid said after the match.
Skipper Rohit hailed the spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin for “finishing” the job for India.
Jadeja returned with a career-best 7/42 and, along with Ravichandran Ashwin (3/59), accounted for all the wickets to bundle out Australia for a paltry 113 in their second innings.
“Looking at how things were yesterday, the way we came back and finished our job was great,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation.
“Even if we were just one run behind, I felt we were trailing because we had to bat last.
“The bowlers were fantastic, to take nine wickets today morning is commendable. And then we finished the job with the bat.” From being overnight 61/1, Australia were bundled out in the first session of the third day.
“Every game you play in this type of weather, there is some moisture. What I noticed is there is a lot to offer in the first session, but as it goes on it gets slower and there isn’t enough bite.
