Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], February 12 (ANI): The wicket during the first Test against England did not offer much assistance to the spinners but India Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane is sure that pitch will offer turn right from day one of the second Test, which gets underway from Saturday.
England defeated India by 227 runs in the first Test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday. England’s winning start against India in their ICC World Test Championship series has kept alive the visiting side’s hopes of making the final of the nine-team competition.
Rahane on Friday said the team will have to wait and watch how the pitch behaves in the first session. The right-handed batsman wants to forget the loss in the first Test start afresh when India take on England on Saturday.
“[The pitch] Looks completely different, I am sure it will turn from day one. We will have to wait and see how it behaves in the first session and take it from there. We have to forget what happened in the first Test and focus on this and play good cricket,” said Rahane during the virtual press conference.
“And we know these conditions really well. We have to put our best foot forward tomorrow and play as a team. I thought our spinners bowled well in the 1st Test. If you see the second innings, especially Ashwin bowled really well, there is not much concern over their performance,” he added.
Rahane played some crucial knocks during the Australia tour but his recent outing with the bat has raised eyebrows about his form. The right-handed batsman scored one run in the first innings against England and was not able to get off the mark in the second essay.
“We are playing at home after two years. It’s all about the team, not about any individual. If you look at my last 10-15 Tests, you will find some runs there,” said Rahane.
The victory at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday lifted England to first place and 70.2 percentage points on the points table and they have improved their chances of securing one of the three series results in their favour that could see them through to the final – 3-1, 3-0 or 4-0.
New Zealand has already qualified for the final winning 70.0 per cent of their matches (with no other series scheduled) while India and Australia remain in contention for the other place along with England.
India, who have slipped to the fourth position with 68.3 percentage points, cannot afford another loss in the four-match series and will be looking to win at least two of the remaining three matches to secure a 2-1 or 3-1 result and a place in the final. (ANI)
