In the first Test beginning on Friday, India’s Rohit Sharma will be under pressure to keep India’s perfect record at Mohali intact when he takes the reins against Sri Lanka.
In December 1994, the Indian men’s cricket team played a Test match in Mohali for the first time. To make matters worse, West Indies won the match by 243 runs. Twelve Tests have taken place in Mohali since then, with the Indian team winning all of them. Furthermore, the hosts have dominated this site since 2000, winning seven of the last ten tests, while the other three have ended in a draw.
India’s strongest site, Mohali, is definitely a stronghold where the squad knows how to triumph. This week’s first Test between India and Sri Lanka will be Rohit Sharma’s first opportunity to keep India’s remarkable record at the venue intact.
In the 1990s, Mohali was one of the few Test grounds in India with a surface that helped seamers. Spinners, on the other hand, have improved their pitch purchase over time to the point that they are now at least as good as batsmen.
Since 2012, India’s unbeaten home record in Test cricket has been built on the spinners’ ability to misdirect the batsmen they face. Indian spinners have depended on their muscle to bulldoze teams at home, just like in other countries when sub-continental teams are tested by playing on tracks that aid bounce and movement.
Indian bowlers Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have been India’s most successful match-winners on home soil during this period.
India under Rohit Sharma will have to see if they continue to use the spin to win’ tactic.
