“We Fought Hard But Congratulations To Australia,” Rohit Sharma

India’s captain Rohit Sharma blamed their crushing defeat on poor bowling in the first innings during the World Test Championship match against Australia, but he added that nobody can take away from his team’s successes during the previous two years.

India were not good enough on their second appearance in the final as Australia added one more trophy to their extensive cabinet after defeating New Zealand two years prior in the WTC final of the 2019–21 cycle.

India struggled to match Australia’s massive 469 score in their first innings after allowing it. They were dismissed for 234 runs.

The match was over when Steve Smith dismissed Virat Kohli (49) with a brilliant catch in the slip.

India needed an additional 280 runs to win, however their morning session was somewhat extended due to the Australian bowlers’ rampage, and they could only score 70 runs.

“It was a tough one. We started well, winning the toss and putting them into bat in those conditions. We bowled pretty well in the first session and then we let ourselves down a little bit with how we bowled,” Rohit said during the post-match presentation ceremony.

“But again, credit to the Australian batters, in particular, Travis Head came in and played really well. That took us off guard a little bit and then we knew it was always hard to come back. We (did) put up a show.

“We fought hard but congratulations to Australia. We spoke of a lot of things. We spoke of bowling tighter lines. But it didn’t work out. Things like that can happen,” the India captain said.

Rohit was upset that he had placed second in a WTC final so many times, but he hoped for greater results in the future.

“We’ve worked really hard for four years to make two finals. It’s disappointment for us. We would like to go one better. But you cannot take anything away from what we’ve done in the two years. It’s a great effort.

“A lot of players took part in those series. We’ll keep our heads high and fight for the next championship as well,” he said.

In the second innings, Ajinkya Rahane (89 and 46) and Shardul Thakur combined 109 runs for the seventh wicket to help India rally from 151 for six in response to Australia’s first-innings total of 469. Rohit hailed the pair for their efforts.

“I thought it was a great fightback from Rahane and Shardul after being 5 down for 150. They stood up and put up a good partnership there and kept us in the game,” he said.

Rohit said the pitch, despite several batters getting hit on the body and being troubled by variable bounce, played out well here at The Oval.

“We bowled pretty well in the second innings. Again we didn’t apply ourselves with the bat. It was a good pitch to bat on. All five days the pitch behaved pretty well and we didn’t capitalise,” the India captain said.

Also read: WTC Finals: There Is Still Enough Help For Bowlers In Wicket, Says Cameron Green