Steve Smith, Joe Root and other batters advised to 'play it like Puji and Rahane' on challenging MCG-style pitches

Robin Uthappa describes the MCG Test surface as challenging yet playable. He emphasizes that modern batting lacks patience.

Robin Uthappa has offered a blunt read on the MCG Test surface: difficult, seam-friendly, but nowhere near unplayable. Speaking on his YouTube channel, he argued that wickets like these only look extreme because modern batting has drifted away from patience.

Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane

His core point is simple: accept that 250 can be a strong score here, and then bat like it, with method, discipline, and a refusal to flinch.

“Fight it out”: Robin Uthappa

“See, it’s a dichotomous situation. It’s not like it’s an impossible wicket. There are such wickets in Melbourne which are very juicy for fast bowlers... I think it’s because of the way cricket is played today. I feel like these pitches are unsporty, but if you have the right technique and the right mindset and the fight in you, you’ll be able to figure out a solution for this kind of a wicket also. It’s not a high-scoring game, but it’s not...It won’t be a 300-plus game, but even a 250 on this wicket is possible. You gotta fight it out. Play it like Puji and Ajinkya Rahane. Definitely, you’ll score runs,” said Robin Uthappa.

His argument isn’t that the wicket is fair in a neat, symmetrical way. It’s that a batter still has agency. If your defence is tight, your head is clear, you can survive the hardest spells and keep the scoreboard moving.

That’s why he points to Cheteshwar Pujara and Rahane as templates: innings built on leaving well, trusting time, and treating pressure as a phase, not a verdict.

Root, Brisbane, and the entertainment problem

Uthappa also reflected on Joe Root’s struggles in the 2nd Test in Brisbane, adding that the England batter looked lost and called it an unfortunate moment in Test cricket.

“I am saying this with a grain of salt because the way we’re playing Test cricket has now changed. I don’t enjoy it a lot, like Ashes Test matches that finished in two days. What are we doing to the sport for entertainment? Joe Root too lost in that Test match. He didn’t know how to play, play attacking cricket, or play his own way in the second innings. It was quite unfortunate...I empathise with them,” he added.

Put together, it’s a warning wrapped inside a pitch debate. If Test batting becomes only about instant intent, demanding wickets won’t just produce low totals; they will produce uncertainty. And once batters stop believing there is a solution, the format starts losing the very thing that separates it: endurance under pressure.