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Rohit Sharma kicked off his Test captaincy reign on a winning note as India thumped Sri Lanka by an innings and 222 runs in the first match of the two-match Test series on Sunday (March 6). India's star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja delivered record performance as he scored unbeaten an 175 and followed by a fifer and then a four-wicket haul in the second innings. Jadeja was adjudged ‘player of the match’ for his extraordinary performance in Virat Kohli’s 100th Test.
The legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar however examined Rohit's captaincy skills after India's impressive show in the Mohali Test.
Gavaskar was all praise for the skipper but said that Jadeja was brought a bit later in the first innings and these are the things people might bring up.
“Even the bowling, you can argue that Jadeja was brought in a bit later in the first innings but that doesn't matter because the team won with two days to spare. So those are little things that people will bring up,” the 72-year-old veteran told Star Sports.
Ravindra Jadeja became only the second Indian after Kapil Dev to Score 5000 runs & pick 400 Wickets in International Cricket.
Right after India's comprehensive victory, Gavaskar praised the field placements and the bowling changes made by capain Rohit, calling it “spot on”, before rating his captaincy out of 10.
“Look at the way he has led the side, the bowling changes, the fielding changes. I think it was absolutely spot on. Even the most dispassionate of observers would give him a 9.5 out of 10. The half is what you always keep aside. But 9.5 out of 10 for Rohit Sharma's captaincy in the Test match,” Gavaskar said.
India's former captain was all impressed by the way India dominated in the first Test as he termed it a superior display of cricket by the Indian team who won with two days to spare, before he pointed out one tiny error from Rohit, although he felt it was negligible given the emphatic win.
“Excellent debut. Because when you win inside three days, it tells you that your team has been superior. But more importantly, when your team was fielding, the bowling changes, the field placement...very impressive. The catches were going to exactly where the fielders were, they didn't have to move much. So spot on field placements,” he further added.
While India have taken a 1-0 lead in the series, the second Test match will be a Day-Night game in Bengaluru which will commence from March 12.
