India captain Rohit Sharma said that his team failed to do well with the bat, which saw them losing by an innings and 32 runs against South Africa in the first Test. The veteran also pointed out that the batters failed to cash in on boundary opportunities unlike the hosts, who made the most of the conditions. He, however, gave credit to the wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul for his century under pressure.
Rohit Sharma said in the post-match show: “We were not good enough to win. Having been put into bat, KL batted well to get us that score, but then we didn’t exploit the conditions with the ball and then again didn’t show up today with the bat. If we have to win Test matches, we have to come together collectively and we didn’t do that. Guys have come here before, we know what to expect and everyone has their own plan.”
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He further added: “Our batters were challenged and we didn’t adapt well. This is a boundary-scoring ground, we saw them (South Africa) score many but we need to understand the opposition and their strengths as well. We didn’t bat well in both innings, that’s why we stand here.”
Rohit Sharma, however, backed India’s bowling unit despite South Africa scoring 408 runs to take a 163-run lead in the first innings as well. He stated that Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur and debutant Prasidh Krishna didn’t have enough experience in South Africa as well.
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“Not too many positives to finish the game within 3 days, but KL showed what we need to do on this sort of pitch. Our bowlers, a lot of these guys haven’t been here before so I don’t want to be too critical,” Rohit Sharma concluded. “Important for us to regroup. We go through these times as sportsmen and we need to be ready for the next Test now.”
The second Test will be played at Newlands in Cape Town, starting January 3 as well.
