Border-Gavaskar Trophy: We didn’t bat well enough, says Rohit Sharma on Adelaide Test

India’s captain Rohit Sharma waits for the presentation ceremony after their loss in the second cricket test match against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Australia, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Holding a mirror to himself and the team, Rohit Sharma was a picture of introspection in the press-conference at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday (December 8, 2024) evening.

“You know when you come to Australia, you have to play a pink-ball Test. It is just that we didn’t play well enough and Australia played better cricket than us. We need to look into our game, our plans and the stuff we do during the game,” the Indian skipper said.

Also Read | Travis Head’s hundred, bowlers put Australia on top against India

He then elaborated: “The best chance of winning a Test is by putting runs on the board. The disappointing part is that we didn’t bat well enough. We probably were 30 to 40 runs short in the first innings and there were opportunities when Australia was batting but we failed to take those chances.”

Rohit also played down the incident between Mohammed Siraj and Travis Head on Saturday, in which the former gave a send-off and words were exchanged: “I was standing at slip and I don’t know what was exchanged. But when two competitive teams are going at each other, these things happen. Travis batted well. My job is not to look at just one incident, I am focussed on the overall picture of the Test. There is a thin line and as captain, it is also my responsibility to make sure that we don’t cross that line.”

Looking ahead, Rohit stressed that his team can spring back: “There are a lot of individuals in that dressing room, who have played a lot of cricket, won a lot of games, and have come back from difficult situations. We hope that everyone stands up to the challenge and takes the team along.” He also emphasised that the bowling attack is not entirely about Jasprit Bumrah and others too need to take up responsibility.

Rohit on Mohammed Shami’ return

Rohit Sharma stressed that the BCCI’s medical team is keeping an eye on Mohammed Shami while not revealing any specific time-frame for the speedster’s return to the Indian squad: “I know he has played the Mushtaq Ali tournament but I believe there is a swelling. It would be unfair to rush him here and hope he bowls. We should not put any pressure on him.”