The 25-run defeat in the third and final Test of the three-match series against New Zealand has made Rohit Sharma, the Indian Test captain, the first to face a whitewash in this part of the country during a red-ball series. They entered the contest after their eight-wicket defeat in Bengaluru, followed by the huge 113-run loss in Pune.
The first game of the series at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium found the Rohit Sharma-led side struggling against the quality pace attack of the Kiwis on a wet- surface, where they made a wrong call of deciding to bat first and were folded up for just 46, their third lowest innings score in the format.
The upset meant the management decided to produce a tank turner for the second game at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium. The batting of the home side flopped as they were bundled out for just 156 in the first innings and despite an aggressive 245 in the second innings, they fell short of the target by a huge margin.
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Rohit Sharma didn’t enjoy a great time with the bat as managed only 91 runs in six innings at an average of 15.16 and a strike rate of around 70. He was dismissed against the Pacers the most times in the series from the Indian camp, and his issues against Matt Henry were exposed the most.
Rohit Sharma admits his poor and defensive display in leadership
Chasing another moderate total of 147 runs in the final game at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, the two-times runners-up of the World Test Championship (WTC) lost their first four wickets inside just seven overs. They could get going from that position. The Nagpur-born called this 0-3 whitewash ‘very low point’ of his career.
“Something like that will be a very low point in my career, and I take full responsibility for it. Yes, absolutely (bitter pill to swallow). Losing a series, a Test match, is never easy, (and) something that’s not easily digestible.” Rohit Sharma expressed this at the post-match press conference. “We didn’t play our best cricket. New Zealand played better throughout the series. There were a lot of mistakes we made.”
By offering the two slow and low turners in the last two games, India allowed the visiting side to play three spinners, two of which are white-ball specialist all-rounders. Mitchell Santer blew away the home batters with his incredible line and length with 13 wickets in Pune, while Ajaz Patel showed his magic in Mumbai.
The World Cup-winning captain pointed out that their lack of ability to post decent first-innings totals in the first two games made the major contribution to the series defeat.
“The first two Tests, we didn’t put enough runs in the first innings. In this game, we got the 30 runs (28) lead, and the target was chasable. We failed as a unit. When you are chasing a target like that, you want runs on the board. That was in my mind, and it didn’t come off. When it doesn’t come off, it doesn’t look great.” Rohit Sharma explained his horrible pull shot to get dismissed.
Throughout the series, the captaincy of the Mumbai batter was under the scanner, as he looked to stay in the defensive mode for most of the time, putting the fielders near the boundary rope, and allowing the touring batters to settle down comfortably.
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“I go in with certain plans, and those didn’t come off this series. We didn’t play our best cricket in these conditions and are facing the result of that. I wasn’t at my best as captain in leading the team as well as with the bat.” Rohit Sharma concluded.
The team will aim to adapt quickly, as they are moving to Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, which starts on November 22 at the Optus Stadium in Perth.