Amidst the heavy criticism across all the quarters, former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has extended his support behind Rohit Sharma over his much-debated call to bowl first in the ongoing third Test against Australia at The Gabba, Brisbane.
The ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 is currently tied at 1-1, and the ongoing third Test will seal the fate of the high-drama five-match Test series. Given the importance and history, the Indian cricket team captain shocked one and all by opting to bowl first after winning the toss at The Gabba.
Aakash Chopra defends India’s bold decision in the crucial Third Test
The Indian skipper made the call based on the pitch conditions and weather forecast. However, many former cricketers believe that Rohit Sharma’s call may backfire, as the pitch at The Gabba will crack and make batting tough in the latter stages of the crucial third Test.
However, Aakash Chopra said that making the right decision when it comes to batting or bowling first in tricky conditions is a tough one, but he feels in conditions with a green pitch and overcast skies, the natural instinct is to bowl first, and Rohit Sharma took that call in Brisbane.
The cricket pundit has pointed out that the weather conditions and pitch at The Gabba suggested that chasing will be easier and seemed like the safer option and that’s why the touring side opted to bowl first against Australia.
Tough one: Aakash Chopra on Rohit Sharma’s call to bowl first at The Gabba
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube: “Tough one. Many times, in such conditions, you consider batting first a brave decision because your gut feeling, when you see the greenery on the pitch and the overcast overhead conditions with chances of rain, says everything is hinting in one direction that you should win the toss and bowl first.”
However, Chopra pointed out that such decisions sometimes backfire, as it did in the pink-ball Test in Adelaide, but there are times when batting first can surprise everyone, as India did in Perth. He also suggested to the critics that it would be unfair to criticize Rohit and the Indian cricket team for their decision to bat first, given the unpredictability of the game.
The commentator further explained, “However, in such a scenario, when you decide to bat first sometimes—like India did in Perth, it worked out beautifully. The second time you also decided to bat first, but it didn’t work out beautifully; that was the pink-ball Test. So, I won’t kill Rohit Sharma or the Indian team for the decision.”
Our batting did not fire in Adelaide and we lost the match: Aakash Chopra
He admitted that India lost the Adelaide Test because their batting didn’t perform well, but he pointed out that conditions played a big role, with the pitch offering more assistance to bowlers on the first day and then becoming more favorable for batting as the game progressed.
Chopra signed off by saying, “Many times, when you see the pitch, you feel you should bowl first, that you will bowl out the opposition quickly as we also got out in the last match. We fell short. Our batting did not fire. Conditions have a role to play. There is a lot of help on the first day, and then the conditions become better for batting.”
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