India's Rohit Sharma on Friday became the first opener to breach the 1000-run mark in the ongoing cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC). Rohit reached the milestone against England in the fourth and final Test of the series at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Rohit currently leads the list of most runs in the WTC, followed by David Warner (948) and Dean Elgar (848).
- 1000* - Rohit Sharma
- 948 - David Warner
- 848 - Dean Elgar
- 841 - Dom Sibley
- 810 - Mayank Agarwal
Rohit also became the fastest opener to score 1000 runs for India in the longest format of the game.
Earlier on the opening day, the Indian bowling unit, led by the spin duo of Axar Patel and R Ashwin, bundled England out for 205 on the Motera wicket.
England's batting heavy line-up faltered again after winning the toss and electing to bat as Axar (4/68) Ashwin (3/47) ran riot. Only Ben Stokes (55) and Dan Lawrence (46) were able to stick in the middle.
In reply, the hosts lost an early wicket in the form of Shubman Gill (0), off the bowling of James Anderson during the 12 overs they had to face towards the end of the day's play. On the second day, Pujara walked back after being trapped by Jack Leach while skipper Virat Kohli departed on a duck off Ben Stokes' bowling.
Earlier, Rohit had downplayed talks surrounding the pitch, saying that it is only normal for India to want to make the most of their home advantage. Many former players including ex-England skipper Michael Vaughan had criticised the Motera wicket for favouring spin.
"The pitch is the same for both teams. So I don't know why there's so much talk about the pitch. People say that the pitch shouldn't be a certain type of way, but they have been like this in India for years. Every team plays to their strengths at home, and similarly, we do what our team prefers in India," Rohit had said.
