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Rohit Sharma accepted that the home series which India lost at home after 12 years, wasn’t his best – either as an individual or as a leader.
Rohit Sharma is the first Indian skipper since MS Dhoni to lose a Test series at home. (AP)
India suffered a humiliating and unprecedented 3-0 series defeat from New Zealand as the Black Caps outclassed the hosts by 25 runs on day three of the third and final Test in Mumbai on Sunday.
The last time India were blanked at home was in 2000, in a two-match series against South Africa, and Rohit Sharma’s side will be feeling the pressure ahead of a challenging five-match series against Australia starting later this month.
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Rohit Sharma was a disappointed man after the historic whitewash.
“Yeah, absolutely, you know, losing a series, losing a Test is never easy, it’s something that’s not easily digestible. Again, we didn’t play our best cricket, we know and we have to accept,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation.
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The Indian captain also accepted that batting let them down, especially in Mumbai.
“They (New Zealand) did so much better than us throughout the series. We made a lot of mistakes and we’ll have to accept it. We didn’t put enough runs on the board in the 1st innings (in Bengaluru and Pune) and we were very much behind in the game,” he said.
“Here we got a 30-run lead, we thought we were ahead, the target was achievable as well, all we had to do was a bit application which we failed to do,” he said.
When asked about his batting, Rohit said: “Chasing such a target, you want runs on the board as well, that’s something that was there in my mind, it didn’t come off and when it happens, it doesn’t look great. There are certain ideas, certain plans on my mind when I go to bat, but in this series, it didn’t come off and that’s disappointing for me.”
Praising Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, he said: “Those guys showed how to bat on these surfaces, you’ve got to be slightly ahead and be proactive when we play on a pitch like that we are playing on such pitches in the last 3-4 years, we know how to play (and play well).”
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Signing off, Rohit accepted that the home series which India lost at home after 12 years, wasn’t his best – either as an individual or as a leader.
“But this series, it didn’t come off, certain things which didn’t come off, and that’s going to hurt. From a personal point of view, I wasn’t at my best with both bat and as a captain, that’s something that’ll rankle me. But, we didn’t perform well collectively and that’s the reason for these losses,” Rohit said.
(With inputs from Agencies)
