Indian skipper Rohit Sharma on Monday said the 184-run drubbing at the hands of Australia in the fourth Test here is “mentally disturbing”, conceding that his team failed to fight in the match. India will now head to Sydney for the fifth and final Test trailing 1-2 in the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The series finale begins on January 3. “It is mentally disturbing when you can’t do what you have come to do,” Rohit, whose own poor form has been under the scanner, told reporters after the game.
“It is pretty disappointing. There are ways to win games and we fell short in finding ways to win the game here. We wanted to fight till the end and unfortunately, we couldn’t do it,” he said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Australia were struggling at 90 for six in their second innings with the overall lead yet to touch 200 on Sunday but managed to make it a 340-run target for the visitors. Rohit admitted his team could not exploit the favourable situation.
“We had Australia 90 for 6. We know things can get tough, but we want to play tough cricket from hard situations. But we were not good enough. I went back to my room and thought about what else we could have done as a team,” Rohit said.
“But we threw everything we had, they fought hard, especially that last-wicket partnership, which probably cost us the game there,” he added.
Rohit said the team wanted to have a go at the target despite its daunting nature.
“We knew 340 wasn’t going to be easy. We tried to set a platform and keep wickets in hand for the last two sessions, but they bowled perfectly as well. We wanted to go for the target, but we didn’t set the platform from our side,” he noted.
The Mumbaikar lauded Nitish Kumar Reddy for making a fine hundred during the first innings, and hoped the youngster will climb the ladder.
“He’s coming here for the first time, these conditions can get really tough, but he showed great character, solid technique as well.
“He’s got everything to be successful at this level, I hope he goes from strength to strength, and he’s got all the backing from the team as well,” he said.
The 37-year-old also patted pacer Jasprit Bumrah for leading the Indian bowling attack almost singlehandedly.
“Absolutely brilliant, We’ve been watching him for so many years now, coming here and getting the job done. He’s not a statistical person.
“He just wants to play for the country and do well for the team, but unfortunately he’s not got a lot of support from the other side,” he added.
Wanted to take India win out of equation
Australian skipper Pat Cummins justified the move to not declare their second innings, saying he wanted to snuff out any chances for an Indian win.
“We wanted to take an India victory out of the equation (on batting on and not declaring). We had plenty of runs to play with, and as many helmets around the bat as we could.
“We put a lot of work into our lower-order batting, we work a lot on how best to bowl to the opposition batters firstly, but also how we can contribute with the bat.” Cummins said the MCG Test was one of the best he has been a part of in his career with record crowds turning up on all five days.
“What an amazing Test match, I reckon one of the best I’ve been part of. All week the crowd has been ridiculous, and it’s been amazing to be part of.
“Marnus helped me out in that second innings big time, happy to contribute with the bat as well. Amazing innings from Steve too,” he added.
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