"As long as everyone keeps their mouth shut in India" - Rohit Sharma slams pitch hypocrisy of Indian pitches

Team India captain Rohit Sharma came hard at the critiques of Indian pitches after the Cape Town Test against South Africa which ended in a record 107 overs.

The pitch at Newlands offered extra bounce for fast bowlers from the first over, which was worsened by the cracks. Mohammed Siraj ran riot in the first innings to bowl South Africa out for just 55, the Proteas' lowest Test total in almost a century.

India scored 153 in reply but that also included six wickets for zero runs. The visitors eventually won by seven wickets in the second session on Day 2.

There was little to no criticism of the pitch from English and Australian pundits who usually lambast Indian and sub-continent pitches, calling them "beaches" or "sand mines" when matches end in three days on spin-favoring wickets.

"I don't mind playing on pitches like this as long as everyone keeps their mouth shut in India and doesn’t complain about Indian pitches. You come here to challenge yourself. And when people come to India it is challenging as well," Rohit said after the match.

"I would love to see the chart match referees prepare while rating pitches. We know in India ball spins from Day 1, you are not okay. When the ball seams from Day 1, you are okay. That's not okay," he added.

India's win was the first by an Asian side in Newlands. It helped Rohit and company to level the two-match Test series 1-1.

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"How can that be a poor pitch?" - Rohit Sharma on Ahmedabad World Cup track

The captain also spoke about the International Cricket Council's (ICC) 'average' rating of the slow pitch in the 2023 ODI World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

"I still can’t believe that the World Cup final was rated below average. A batter (Travis Head) got a hundred. How can that be a poor pitch?" he further added.

In that case, India lost the match by six wickets.