Rohit Sharma gives startling reply to reporter amid Cape Town's pitch controversy

India won the 2nd Test against South Africa on Thursday by 7 wickets, at the Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town. The Men in Blue showed a brilliant bowling display, with Mohammed Siraj earning his career-best test spell by picking up 6 wickets and bowling out the hosts for 55 in the process. The pitch of Cape Town behaved unusually and not what was reported prior to the start of the game.

The match got ended in two days time and on the 1st day, the fans witnessed 23 wickets fall down at the Newlands. Many experts and cricketers have shared their opinions about the pitch controversy. Team India captain Rohit Sharma is the latest one to add in the list, the 36-year-old opener has been furious over the pitch controversy. 

He believed his side did not have any trouble playing on these kinds of surfaces, and he wished for spectators to "keep their mouths shut" when discussing games that are played on Indian territory. The Cricket Governing Body rated the surface in Indore, where the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was played, as "below-average," while even the Ahmedabad track, where the World Cup final was played, was rated as "average." Rohit did not hold back in the post-match conference. 

We saw what happened in this match: Rohit Sharma

Rohit told reporters, "I mean, we saw what happened in this match, how the pitch played and stuff like that. I honestly don't mind playing on pitches like this. As long as everyone keeps their mouth shut in India and doesn't talk too much about Indian pitches, honestly."

"Because you come here [in Test cricket] to challenge yourself. Yes, it is dangerous. It is challenging. So, when people come to India, it is again pretty challenging as well. Look, when you are here to play Test cricket, we talk about Test cricket, the ultimate prize, Test cricket being the pinnacle and stuff like that. I think it's important that we also stand by it."          

He further added, "When you are put up against, a challenge like that, you come and face it. That's what happens in India, but, in India on day one, if the pitch starts turning, people start talking about 'Puff of dust! Puff of dust!' There's so much crack here on the pitch. People are not looking at that."