Captain Rohit Sharma greets Ravichandran Ashwin after India’s win over Bangladesh during the first Test at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai on September 22, 2024.
| Photo Credit: R. Ragu

Indian captain Rohit Sharma on Sunday (September 22, 2024) emphasised on building his team around “strong bowling options” in order to take the conditions out of the equation as they gear up for the challenges that lay ahead in the run-up to the World Test Championship.

Riding on a brilliant all-round performance, India cantered to a massive 280-run victory in the first Test against Bangladesh with five sessions to spare.

Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin completed a memorable all-round outing with a six-wicket haul as a dominant India crushed Bangladesh, after Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill struck fluent hundreds.

“We want to build our team around strong bowling options, we have to be ready to face whatever the conditions offer,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation.

“No matter what the conditions are, whether we play in India, whether we play outside, we want to build the team around that.

“In the last few years, wherever we have played, we have managed to have that in the armoury, whether it is seam bowling options or spin bowling options,” the skipper added.

Set an improbable target of 515, Bangladesh were bowled out for 234 in their second innings, with first-inning centurion Ashwin (6/88) doing the bulk of the damage at the his home ground at the Chepauk.

“It was a great result looking at what lies ahead for us. We are playing after a long time, but you are never out of cricket. We came here a week before, we had a good lead up to the Test match and we got the result that we wanted,” Rohit said.

The captain was delighted with the manner in which Pant marked his return to Test cricket, scoring his sixth hundred in the traditional format. It hasn’t been easy for Pant, and his skipper acknowledged that.

“He’s been through some really tough times. The way he has managed himself through those tough times was superb to watch. He came back in the IPL, followed by a very successful World Cup and this is the format he loves the most.

“For us, it was never about what is he going to do with the bat, we always knew what he had with the bat and with the gloves as well. It was just about giving him the game time.

“Credit to him as well, he went on to play Duleep Trophy and got ready for this Test match and had an impact straightaway in the game.” India declared their second innings at 287 for 4 for an overall lead of 514.

Rohit said, “You have to give credit to the guys, whenever there is a responsibility, they never shy away from it and they want to put their hand up and get the job done for the team.”

The India captain said it was all about staying patient with the match being played on a red soil pitch.

“The red soil pitch always has something to offer. You need to have a little bit of patience as well. You don’t see much happening straightaway. This was a pitch where we had to show a lot of patience whether we bat or bowl.

“We were patient enough with the bat to get those big runs and then with the ball as well we were patient enough to hit the right areas and put them under pressure consistently.” Ashwin, who turned it around for India with his magnificent century in the company of Ravindra Jadeja after the home team was reeling at 144 for six in the first innings, received accolades form his skipper.

“Every time we look up to him, he’s always there for us whether with the bat or ball. I don’t know if I speak here, it’ll be enough of what he does for this team.

“Every time we see him come out and do the job, it’s always so brilliant. He’s never out of the game.

“The last competitive cricket he played was IPL and then he had some fun playing TNPL. We watched him bat up the order and that’s what helped him as well to bat the way he did,” Rohit said.