IND vs ENG: Dinesh Karthik Calls Rajkot Test Win as 'Statement Victory for Rohit Sharma'

India hammered England by 434 runs of the third Test of the five-match series at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, now known as Niranjan Shah Stadium, in Rajkot on Sunday.

It was India’s biggest test win by runs. Its previous best came in a 372-run victory over New Zealand at Mumbai in 2021. It was England’s second biggest defeat by runs in test cricket after losing by 562 runs against Australia in 1934.

Rohit Sharma had attracted criticism after losing the first Test in Hyderabad with many experts coming down hard on the Indian captain’s tactics.

After the win in Rajkot, Dinesh Karthik credited Rohit Sharma for the victory, especially after the shots taken against the India captain post the first two test matches.

“I would say that this is a statement victory for Rohit Sharma. They did not have Ashwin when they bowled in the first innings of the Test match. That is a big miss in India. In spite of that, he has made this Test match happen. There were few murmurs in the last two Tests that he had not led the team well and at times he let the game drift,” Karthik was quoted as saying by India Today.

“He made a strong comeback in Vizag. In Rajkot Ben Duckett made it really hard for him in the first innings, but he still found a way to comeback. Now add the others, the Rahuls, the Kohlis, the Shamis, the Pantsl; Rohit has led this team very well and he has found answers to questions that Bazball raised in the first Test match in Vizag,” he further added.

England won the opener by 28 runs but India bounced back in the second match.

The fourth Test starts on Friday in Ranchi.

(With inputs from Agencies)