Rohit Sharma (Source – Jio Cinema)
New Zealand handed India a Test white-wash at home for the first time in 24 years. The hosts had a horrible time with the bat throughout the series and that resulted in a humiliating 3-0 series defeat. The senior batters – Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli scored 91 and 93 runs respectively in six innings following which, questions have been raised about their future in the longest format.
After the game at the Wankhede Stadium, the Indian captain admitted that he had a very rough time in batting and was also very ordinary as captain. His decision to bat first in the first Test in Bengaluru backfired and resulted in the team getting all-out for only 46 runs in the first innings. Speaking on the same, Rohit mentioned that the series defeat and his performance will bother him in the coming days and added that overall as a unit, they failed to challenge New Zealand, which is the prime reason behind the series defeat.
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“There are certain ideas, certain plans in my mind when I go to bat, but in this series, it did not come off and that’s disappointing for me. Those guys (Pant, Jaiswal, and Gill) 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 have played on such pitches in the last 3-4 years, we know how to play,” Rohit said in the post-match presentation.
“But this series, it didn’t come off, certain things 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,” he added.
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As things stand, India will now have to win four Tests against Australia and draw another one to guarantee their place in the World Test Championship (WTC) finale. However, the five-match series against the Pat Cummins-led side will not be an easy task, especially with the kind of form the Indian batters are in.