Ind vs Eng: Rajkot Test is a statement win for 'under-fire' Rohit Sharma, feels veteran stumper Dinesh Karthik

India thrashed England by 434 runs on Day 4 of the third Test, in Rajkot, on Sunday (Feb 18). Batting first, India were tottering at 33-3 on the opening day before centuries from skipper Rohit Sharma (131) and Ravindra Jadeja (112) propelled India to 445. In reply, Ben Duckett's 153 stood out for England as they folded for 319 before India set a whopping 557-run target for the visitors, riding on Yashasvi Jaiswal's 214. Eventually, Jadeja's 5-fer enabled India's big win as England got dismissed for a paltry 122.

After India's thumping victory, their biggest Test win in terms of runs, veteran stumper Dinesh Karthik made a big claim. He feels the Rajkot Test is a statement win for captain Rohit, who has been under fire as a red-ball leader of late. Former England batter Kevin Pietersen had recently hit out at Hitmanduring the first Test in Hyderabad (which the hosts lost by 28 runs)for his relaxed on-field attitudeand overall tactics.

"I would say that this is a statement victory for Rohit Sharma. They did not have Ashwin when they bowled in the first innings of the Test match. That is a big miss in India. In spite of that, he has made this Test match happen. There were few murmurs in the last two Tests that he had not led the team well and at times he let the game drift," Karthik said on Cricbuzz.

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"He made a strong comeback in Vizag. In Rajkot Ben Duckett made it really hard for him in the first innings, but he still found a way to comeback. Now add the others, the Rahuls, the Kohlis, the Shamis, the Pantsl; Rohit has led this team very well and he has found answers to questions that Bazball raised in the first Test match in Vizag," he further added.

After the massive win in Rajkot, Rohit said at the post-match presentation, "When youare playing Test cricket, it is not played over 2-3 days. We do understand the importance of playing over 5 days. They played well and put us under pressure. We have got class in ourbowling, the message was to stay calm and I'm really proud of how we came back the next day. When those things happen, it's a delight."

India's win in Rajkot is being appreciated more because they were without Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, both out of action due to injury concerns, whereas Virat Kohli has not taken part in the series yet due to personal reasons. Moreover, R Ashwin had to withdraw from the Test match after the end ofsecond day's play, due to a family emergency. While he had returned to Rajkot on the fourth day, Jaiswal and Jadeja (ending with match figures of 7 for 92)ensured India did not require his services as they thumped England without dropping much sweat.