Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli
Winning the World Test Championship (WTC) is similar to lifting the World Cup trophy, believes India's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane. After suffering a shocking 227-run loss in the first Test against England, the hosts came back sharply to win the next two Tests, knocking the Joe Root-led side out of the WTC final against New Zealand in the process.
The Indian team, currently leading by 2-1, needs to win or draw the final Test of the series to qualify for the final of inaugural WTC at Lord's.
"Absolutely, Ishant was spot on in what he said. Winning the WTC is equal to winning the World Cup. We are all focusing on that, having said that, the focus right now is to play the fourth Test against England. Ishant was completely right," said Rahane in a virtual press conference ahead of the fourth Test.
Rahane also talked about the much-debated surface at Motera, which was under scrutiny after the pink-ball Test was wrapped up within two days. Rahane, who has managed to score just 85 runs in the ongoing series against England, believes that one has to back his defensive ability on seaming and spinning tracks.
"When you play on spinning tracks, you have to play the line and you know that. In India, we haven't played so many games in the last two-three years.
"When you play on that spinning and seaming wickets, it's all about playing the line, when the ball is spinning too much, you do not have to think about it, you just have to play the line, if you miss the ball, you miss the ball. Backing your defence and ability on seaming and spinning wicket is something we follow," said Rahane.
Earlier, pacer Ishant Sharma had also said that winning the WTC will be like winning the World Cup.
"I am just focused on how to win this series and qualify for the finals of the WTC. I just play one format, WTC is like a World Cup for me, if we play the finals and then we go on to win, the feeling would be the same as winning the World Cup or the Champions Trophy," Ishant had said.
