Ahead of the pink-ball Test England, the veteran Indian opener, Rohit Sharma on Sunday said he will be “extra cautious and focussed” while batting during the twilight phase of the day-night match against England. Rohit played his first day-night Test held in India against Bangladesh in November 2019, but did not bat during the twilight phase.
Talking about the same during a virtual press conference, Rohit Sharma said, “So far I have only heard from fellow teammates that it plays on the mind. I played just one pink-ball Test against Bangladesh but didn’t get to bat at that (twilight) time when sun was about to set. It’s obviously a little challenging, the weather and light suddenly change. All batters are aware of these challenges. We just need to be mindful of the situation and play accordingly.”
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The four-match Test series between India and England currently leveled at 1-1, and now both teams will face off in a pink-ball Test, beginning February 24 at the Motera Stadium. If India wins the ongoing series, then they will qualify for the final of the World Test Championship.
Talking about the same qualification for the World Test Championship, “We want to qualify for the WTC finals, but we still to do a lot of things right to be there. It is too far ahead still, we have got two Tests to play before that, we will see what happens after that. It is a five-day game, so the focus and pressure changes every day. When you do those little things right, it adds up and you achieve what you always wanted to achieve as a team.”
India remain in contention to qualify for the final of the ICC World Test Championship. The victory in Chennai on Tuesday has lifted India to the second position with 69.7 percentage points on the WTC points table, but they cannot afford to lose another match as they need to win 2-1 or 3-1 to qualify for the final of the maiden edition of the championship.
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England, who led the table after winning the opening Test, has slipped to the fourth position with 67.0 percentage points. They can still qualify, but for that, they must win both remaining matches of the series against India.
