Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], October 20 : Rohit Sharma praised Rachin Ravindra for his match-winning performance as New Zealand defeated India by eight wickets in the opening Test at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Ravindra was named Player of the Match after the Black Caps (New Zealand) secured their first Test victory on Indian soil in 36 years.
Ravindra's crucial innings of 134 in the first innings allowed the Kiwis to establish a commanding lead of 356 runs after they bowled out Rohit's team for just 46.
His century also made him the first New Zealand batter in 12 years to score a Test century in India, following Ross Taylor's hundred in 2012.
Rohit mentioned that the Indian spinners aimed to contain Ravindra but commended him for playing his natural game and confidently taking his shots.
"Our spinners tried and did everything possible to extract whatever was there on the pitch. Some of the shots that Rachin played were really really good. He played very good cricket and played well against the spinners. They challenged him but you got to give him credit. He understood what our spinners tried to do and did not back off from playing his natural game, which is what gave him the result against our quality spinners," Rohit reflected about Ravindra in the press conference.
Reflecting on how visiting teams manage to score runs in India, Rohit also mentioned Ollie Pope's remarkable 196-run innings that led England to a 28-run victory at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
"There will be times when some of the batters who come to India will play against our spinners. We saw in the first Test of the England series where a couple of the batters scored hundred," Rohit said.
"Even here, Rachin and Devon Conway played well and put our bowlers under pressure by playing different shots which we are expecting from their batters. Anyone who is coming to India is trying to put pressure on the Indian bowlers by doing different things but we know exactly what we want to do, they played well, they got the results, they got the runs," Rohit added.
The second Test is set to begin on Thursday, October 24, at the Maharashtra Cricket Stadium.