MUMBAI: Rohit Sharma wore a dejected look as he trudged back to the pavilion after scoring just 11 runs. Gutted he was, as deep inside he knew how important it was for India to get a good partnership going upfront that would have helped them chase a small but tricky target of 147 set by New Zealand.
That wasn’t to be, as Rohit’s dismissal sent India’s innings into a tailspin from which they could never recover and were bowled out for 121 despite Rishabh Pant’s best efforts. The defeat at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday led to India’s first whitewash on home turf.
Post-match, Rohit owned up to the mistakes that were committed—by him as a captain and by the batting unit. He also stated that the series defeat was the “low point of his career”.
“It is quite tough (the defeat) and it tells you that nothing is easy in life. Something like this will be a very low point in my career. I take full responsibility for that as a captain. I was not at the best of my abilities right from the start of the series. With the bat as well,” a despondent Rohit said.
“I accept the fact that we were not good enough with the bat. In the couple of innings in the first two Tests where we fell short in the first innings. Even today, I thought 147 should have been chaseable but we were just not good enough with the bat. We didn't apply ourselves. There were a lot of mistakes that were made,” said Rohit.
Talking about his captaincy errors, the 37-year-old said: “As for my captaincy, I decided to bat first on that Bengaluru pitch, which was not right. I made certain tactical errors also. Those decisions didn't go my way. Sometimes it comes off, sometimes it doesn't. I was not at my best and probably cost us the series as well,” said Rohit.
The team’s shot selection throughout the series was poor and it was no different on Sunday as well. Rohit got out when he top-edged his ‘bread and butter’ pull shot, Shubman Gill decided to leave a straighter one which crashed into his stumps, Sarfaraz Khan hit a full toss straight into the hands of Rachin Ravindra manning the leg side boundary, and R Ashwin played an unnecessary reverse sweep which was well-caught by keeper Tom Blundell .
“It (shot selection) wasn’t up to the mark, starting from me,” Rohit agreed. Before adding: “But when you are chasing a target like that, you want to try and put the pressure on the bowlers. I played a bad shot but I don’t regret it because that (the pull) has given me a lot of success in the past.”
As far as his batting is concerned, Rohit looked to play an aggressive brand of cricket in this series but it didn’t translate into runs. At the end of it, he scored just 91 runs in six innings at an average of 15.16. “I will have to look at my own game and try and see what best I can do. When I go to bat, I always think about how I can put the team in the best situation. I haven’t lost faith in my defence. It’s just that I need to spend more time defending balls, which I haven't done in this series. As you grow, you try and evolve, and I am trying to evolve as a batter as well to try and see what else I can do,” Rohit explained.
The Mumbai lad is looking forward to the Australia series . “Australia is not an easy place to play cricket, but we can take a lot of confidence in how we played in the last two series in Australia.”
WILL HE CAPTAIN IN PERTH?
Rohit said he was “unsure” about whether he will captain India in the first Test starting in Perth from Nov 22. Rohit and Ritika are expecting their second child’s birth around that time.
Rohit also confirmed that the team management has decided to scrap the warm-up match with India A and instead have “planned a match simulation” with both teams.
“If a batter gets out (during warm-up game), he will sit in the dugout for the whole day, and he doesn’t get too much batting done then. Whereas in a match simulation, the batters can go out and play 50-70 balls and then if we feel that he's had enough, we can retire him out and then get someone else in. That is the plan,” Rohit informed.
That wasn’t to be, as Rohit’s dismissal sent India’s innings into a tailspin from which they could never recover and were bowled out for 121 despite Rishabh Pant’s best efforts. The defeat at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday led to India’s first whitewash on home turf.
Post-match, Rohit owned up to the mistakes that were committed—by him as a captain and by the batting unit. He also stated that the series defeat was the “low point of his career”.
“It is quite tough (the defeat) and it tells you that nothing is easy in life. Something like this will be a very low point in my career. I take full responsibility for that as a captain. I was not at the best of my abilities right from the start of the series. With the bat as well,” a despondent Rohit said.
“I accept the fact that we were not good enough with the bat. In the couple of innings in the first two Tests where we fell short in the first innings. Even today, I thought 147 should have been chaseable but we were just not good enough with the bat. We didn't apply ourselves. There were a lot of mistakes that were made,” said Rohit.
Talking about his captaincy errors, the 37-year-old said: “As for my captaincy, I decided to bat first on that Bengaluru pitch, which was not right. I made certain tactical errors also. Those decisions didn't go my way. Sometimes it comes off, sometimes it doesn't. I was not at my best and probably cost us the series as well,” said Rohit.
The team’s shot selection throughout the series was poor and it was no different on Sunday as well. Rohit got out when he top-edged his ‘bread and butter’ pull shot, Shubman Gill decided to leave a straighter one which crashed into his stumps, Sarfaraz Khan hit a full toss straight into the hands of Rachin Ravindra manning the leg side boundary, and R Ashwin played an unnecessary reverse sweep which was well-caught by keeper Tom Blundell .
“It (shot selection) wasn’t up to the mark, starting from me,” Rohit agreed. Before adding: “But when you are chasing a target like that, you want to try and put the pressure on the bowlers. I played a bad shot but I don’t regret it because that (the pull) has given me a lot of success in the past.”
As far as his batting is concerned, Rohit looked to play an aggressive brand of cricket in this series but it didn’t translate into runs. At the end of it, he scored just 91 runs in six innings at an average of 15.16. “I will have to look at my own game and try and see what best I can do. When I go to bat, I always think about how I can put the team in the best situation. I haven’t lost faith in my defence. It’s just that I need to spend more time defending balls, which I haven't done in this series. As you grow, you try and evolve, and I am trying to evolve as a batter as well to try and see what else I can do,” Rohit explained.
The Mumbai lad is looking forward to the Australia series . “Australia is not an easy place to play cricket, but we can take a lot of confidence in how we played in the last two series in Australia.”
WILL HE CAPTAIN IN PERTH?
Rohit said he was “unsure” about whether he will captain India in the first Test starting in Perth from Nov 22. Rohit and Ritika are expecting their second child’s birth around that time.
Rohit also confirmed that the team management has decided to scrap the warm-up match with India A and instead have “planned a match simulation” with both teams.
“If a batter gets out (during warm-up game), he will sit in the dugout for the whole day, and he doesn’t get too much batting done then. Whereas in a match simulation, the batters can go out and play 50-70 balls and then if we feel that he's had enough, we can retire him out and then get someone else in. That is the plan,” Rohit informed.
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