India captain Rohit Sharma had no hesitation in accepting that he struggled as captain after India suffered a 3-0 drubbing by New Zealand. The hosts suffered a shocking 25-run loss in the third and final Test at the Wankhede Stadium, after the batters were unable to chase down a target of 147 in the final innings. Speaking at the post-match presentation, Rohit accepted that he did not have a good series as a captain, nor did he perform with the bat.
Rohit departed after scoring just 11 runs in the final innings of the third Test, bringing an end to his torrid run in the three-match series. In the three Tests, Rohit just scored 94 runs, with a highest of 52 in the second innings of the first Test in Bengaluru.
In the third and final Test, Rishabh Pant tried his best to conjure a rescue act to help the hosts gain a consolation win in the series; however, his dismissal proved to be the final nail in the coffin, as New Zealand wrapped up a famous series win, which Simon Doull described as “New Zealand’s best Test series win.”
“Those guys (Pant, Washington Sundar) showed how to bat on these surfaces. You got to be slightly ahead, and be proactive when you are playing on a pitch like that. We have discussed it many times for the last 4-5 years, we have been playing on pitches like these. We are aware of what we need to do. This was an unfortunate series, where it didn’t come off. We were trying to do slightly different things, where it didn’t come off,” said Rohit.
“As a captain as well, I was not at my best at leading the team as well. And not with the bat as well. That is something from the personal point of view. But there are plenty of positives, as we saw in our innings. The bowlers bowled well, kept us in the game, but we collectively failed to perform,” he added.
Addressing the same during the post-match press conference, Rohit Sharma said, “It is quite tough. It tells you that nothing is easy in life. One day you are at a high, and one day, you are not. This is what I have learnt in my life. It is important for me to understand that life is not all about highs, it is about lows as well.”
“Something like this will be a very low point in my career, having lost 3 matches at home. I fully take responsibility of that as a captain and leader. I have not been at the best of my abilities right from the start of the series. With the bat as well, I have not been good enough,” he added.
‘Not easily digestible’
Rohit Sharma also said that the home series loss against New Zealand is not ‘easily digestible’. The hosts failed to get going in the entire series, suffering one collapse after another on wickets that had something in them for the spinners. Mitchell Santner first made full use of the conditions in Pune, and in the final Test in Mumbai, it was Ajaz Patel who wreaked havoc, taking 11 wickets.
“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. They (New Zealand) did so much better than us. 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 behind in the game,” said Rohit.
“Here, we got a 30-run lead, we thought we were ahead, the target was achievable as well, we had to do better though. 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 on my mind when I go to bat, but in this series, it didn’t come off and that’s disappointing for me,” he added.
With this series loss against New Zealand, India now have their task cut out in the World Test Championship final race. One more defeat could mean curtains for the two-time runner-ups. Rohit and Co. will now travel to Australia for the five-match Test series. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy begins November 22 in Perth.
