Indian captain Rohit Sharma lauded spin wizard Ravichandran Ashwin ahead of his 100th Test milestone. Ashwin will be playing his playing his 100th Test in the final Test against England at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamsala which is slated to kick off from March 7.
Ashwin awaits 100th Test milestone
Ashwin became the second bowler after Anil Kumble to take 500 Test wickets for India and became the ninth overall bowler being in an elite company of legends like Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, James Anderson, Kumble, Stuart Broad, Glenn McGrath, Nathan Lyon, and Courtney Walsh.
Rohit spoke about how it's no joke to play 100 Test matches and also went down memory lane talking about Ashwin.
Rohit heaps praise on Ashwin
“Big achievement for any player to play 100 Tests. It is a big milestone. He has been a big match winner for us. What he has done for us, no praise is enough. His performances over 5-7 years, every series he has contributed. It is rare to have players like him: Rohit Sharma,” Rohit said in the pre-match press conference.
Dharamsala has hosted many white-ball games over the years. However, only one Test at the venue has taken place between India and Australia in 2017, which the hosts won by eight wickets. The last time the Indian team played in Dharamsala was against New Zealand in the 2023 World Cup.
Rohit Sharma on Dharamsala pitch
Rohit Sharma spoke about the pitch during his press conference as well, calling it a typical Indian pitch.
“I have not played a Test match here in Dharamsala. Both seamers and spinners were played back in the 2017 Test. Looking at the pitch; it looks like a good pitch. It will be a typical Indian pitch with some movement at the start and towards the end,” Rohit added.
India has already won the series after winning the Test matches in Vizag, Rajkot, and Ranchi, despite losing the first Test in Hyderabad. Meanwhile, England will be looking to make the scoreline 3-2.
England's Playing XI for 5th Test against India
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson, Shoaib Bashir.
India's squad for 5th Test against England
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Devdutt Padikkal, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep.
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