Disagreeing with Kohli’s assessment of the third test that ended with India crushing England by 10 wickets in two days, Cook said hitting was nearly impossible in the newly laid strip at the remodeled stadium in Ahmedabad.
“Virat Kohli came out and defended the wicket almost like it was something from BCCI; it can’t possibly be the wicket. However, it was so hard to hit at that. So hard,” Cook told Channel 4.
“Take out the wicket and blame the batters?” Cook asked, referring to Kohli’s assessment of the pitch that it is a “very good pitch to hit, especially in the early innings.”
“To be honest, I don’t think the quality of the hitting was up to the standard. We were 100 out of 3 and we pitched for less than 150. It was just a weird spinning ball and it was a good wicket to hit in innings. said the patron of India in his defense of the field after the match.
Only two batters, one from either side, were able to score half a century when 28 wickets fell to the spinners in a Biker field that many players felt was not ideal for a test match. The likes of Sunil Gavaskar, however, gave the spinners credit rather than blaming the launch.
Cook added: “We have Virat Kohli, Joe Root, we have great effects players. Yes, we have some people who have to learn to play better on spin, but we have great spin players who are struggling too.
“For me it would be great to have that game with the red ball to see the difference when the ball slips. Today, trying to play correctly, it was almost impossible.”
Cook, one of England’s all-time greats who had been successful against India during his illustrious career, also spoke about the many deliveries that were righted upon landing, especially for the left arm spinner. Axar patel, who finished the game with 11 wickets, including six in England’s second inning.
“We saw a statistic that says this pitch has spun more than any other pitch in India. There have been a lot of other balls that have gone straight as well. That means when it’s spinning, it’s spinning miles.
“When you see the highlights and the ball skidding over you, we don’t see the build-up – when exactly the same ball is spinning miles,” Cook said.
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