Rohit Sharma opens up after MCG loss
India’s hopes of levelling the series in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground were ruined after suffering a batting collapse on Day 5, leading to a 184-run defeat at the hands of Australia. Despite being in a tricky situation, Indian captain Rohit Sharma expressed his team’s intent to fight until the end and acknowledged the missed opportunities that ultimately cost them the match.
Going into the final day, the tourists were in a difficult position, needing 340 runs to win. By tea, the visitors were 112/3, still in the contest, but the match quickly slipped away after the crucial dismissal of Rishabh Pant. India lost their remaining seven wickets for just 34 runs, handing the Baggy Greens a 2-1 lead in the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Reflecting on the defeat during the post-match presentation, Rohit admitted that despite the team’s desire to fight until the end, they ultimately failed to capitalize on key moments.
“Pretty disappointing. Not that we went with the intent of not putting up a fight, we wanted to fight till the end but unfortunately couldn’t do it. It will be tough to assess just the last session. We have to look at the overall Test match, we had our opportunities, we had our chances, but we didn’t take them, and we let Australia come back into the game when we had them 90/6. I know things can get difficult, but that is what we are here for, we wanted to be in tough situations and play hard cricket, I just don’t want to look at one incident in the game,” he said.
The 37-year-old pointed out that India had been in a strong position at one point, having Australia at 90/6. However, the team failed to capitalize on the situation, something that cost them heavily.
“We tried everything we could, we threw everything we had, but they fought hard with the last wicket partnership, we had our chances and we didn’t grab them, probably cost us the game a little bit there. We know 340 wasn’t going to be easy for us. We tried everything we could, if we have wickets in the final two sessions then we could go for the target, but they bowled really well. We wanted to set the platform, but that didn’t happen. There are ways to win games, and we are falling short,” he added.
