Indian captain Rohit Sharma and the team.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma and the team. Image Credit: X

The Indian Test captain, Rohit Sharma, stunned the press when he made the comment of how they should be allowed to accept one series defeat in the last 12 years, as the Blue Brigade was handed an end to their 12-year proud record of not losing a red-ball series at home since being beaten by England during the 2012/13 season.

India, under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, came into the second fixture of the three-match series against New Zealand, having lost their first home Test against the opposition after 36 years. Very rarely this team has found themselves in a do-or-die situation but, that was one of these points.

Once they lost the toss and were asked to bat second on that low and slow turner at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, it was always going to be a nightmare. Things went bad from worse when they conceded a lead of over 100 runs in the first innings of the game with some paltry performances with the bat.

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The Tom Latham side showed great character with the bat in the second innings of the contest and put the Rohit Sharma-led side under the bus. The hosts started in an aggressive mode but, once they lost their captain and later Shubman Gill, the rest of the wickets kept on falling at regular intervals.

Watch: Rohit Sharma drops bombshell comment after historic defeat against New Zealand

Coming into the press conference at the end of the game, the Nagpur-born felt that one series defeat in 12 years for India should be allowed, as he pointed to the failure of the batting department for this series as a rare one and that was why they have been doing well for such a long time at home in this format.

“In 12 years, for once, it’s allowed (to lose one series)!! If that many collapses had happened in the last 12 years, then we would have not been able to win. But in India, the expectations on us are so high that whichever game we play, we should win. We have made it a habit, and you guys don’t fault it because Indian cricket has played some quality cricket at home and taken the benchmark so high.” Rohit Sharma addressed the post-match presser.

The performance with the bat of the Indian captain hasn’t been healthy so far in this series, as he failed with a duck in the first innings, followed by eight in the second innings. The average of the right-handed batter has dropped considerably at home in the recent 12 months, which has been a huge concern.

The defeat for the Blue Brigade has now made it hard for them to keep their chances of the World Test Championship (WTC) qualification interactive, as they now find themselves in a position where they will be needed to win four of their last six encounters.

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“It’s too early to think about WTC. I am hurting because we lost the game. I don’t want to think too much about too far. It’s a collective failure. If you lose a Test match, it’s about the entire unit that has to take the blame.” Rohit Sharma claimed during the interaction.

The only whitewash for the Indian team in a home Test series came in 2000 when Hansie Cronje-led South Africa team blew away the hosts. Now, they are moving for the final game of this series, which starts on November 01 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.