"Don't need to open a medical kit and start doing differently things" - Rohit Sharma reacts to India's first Test series loss at home in 12 years
Indian captain Rohit Sharma reckons there is no need to overreact to the team's unexpected Test series loss to New Zealand at home. Referring to the side's 12-year undefeated streak at home in Tests, he asserted that India have done a lot of good things right for several years.
India went down to New Zealand by 113 runs in the second Test at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Saturday, October 26. They had earlier lost the Bengaluru Test by eight wickets. The result against the Kiwis marks India's first Test series loss at home since going down to England in 2012.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Rohit admitted that while there is scope for improvement, India's success at home over the last decade cannot be ignored following the loss to New Zealand.
The Indian skipper said (as quoted by The Times of India):
"I am not going to overreact after this defeat. You need to chat with certain players. There's no need to sit in a corner and discuss each innings. Clear messages, keeping them calm and that is our responsibility (towards youngsters)."
"We had a great run for 12 years, we were doing great things during this period. I don't think there's anything that we need to talk differently and do differently. We will think about what we didn't do well and what we can improve but I don't need to open a medical kit and start doing differently things. We need to understand that this team has done a lot of good things in the past", Rohit added.
Chasing a challenging target of 359 on Day 3 of the Pune Test, India were bowled out for 245. Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner picked up 6-104 to finish with 13 wickets in the match. For the hosts, Yashasvi Jaiswal was the lone ranger, smashing a belligerent 77 off 65 balls.
"It's too early to think of WTC" - Rohit Sharma
India's fourth loss in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle has made their qualification path for the finals a lot tougher. After the third Test against the Kiwis in Mumbai, they have to play five Tests in Australia.
Rohit and company have a win percentage of 62.82 in the WTC table, but the Aussies (62.50) are a close second. The Indian captain, though, feels it is too early to think about the WTC final.
"It's too early to think of WTC. I am hurting because we lost the game. I can't think of what lies ahead and whether it affects our chances. I am hurting because we lost the series. There are things we need to do. If you lose a Test, it is because the collective unit failed. If you win, everyone deserves credit. If you lose, everyone needs to take the blame," he said.
Again emphasizing India's excellent Test record at home before the loss to New Zealand, the Indian captain said:
"We have won 18 series in a row at home. So we have done a good job. In this series, we didn't bat as well as required. These things happen. We have scored on challenging wickets. I don't want to dwell on these two poor Tests much. Two or three bad innings happen. What we wanted to do in this series with the bat didn't work."
"Don't want to do a post-mortem a lot. But yes, we want to trust our plan, our process, our method. The New Zealand batters showed that. We used to do that. So, yeah it happens," Rohit concluded.
While India have been poor overall against New Zealand, Rohit has also struggled on a personal level. In four innings across two Tests, he has registered scores of 2, 52, 0, and 8.