Team India lost the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia at Adelaide Oval on Sunday. After the loss, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma opened up on the loss in the day-night Test match, which was being played with the pink ball. He acknowledged by saying that his team didn’t play well and the opposition team played better cricket, and they won the second Test. He also said that they didn’t bat well and were 30-40 runs short with the bat in the first innings. He praised Australia for their performance and the way they played with both bat and ball and showed his faith that they will bounce back in the third Test at the Gabba.
“A disappointing week for us; we didn’t play well, and Australia played better cricket than us and won the Test match. We failed to grab our opportunities. We didn’t bat well enough, probably 30-40 runs short with the bat in the first innings. There were opportunities when Australia was batting, and we failed to take those chances. When you miss those chances, it’s never easy.”
Travis Head played a tremendous knock, scoring a century at home, and was accompanied by brilliant bowling spells. Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins led Australia to a 10-wicket win at the Adelaide Oval. With this victory they reclaimed their position at the top of the WTC 25 standings. India slipped to third in the WTC standings, and the next Test will be a turning point for them if they win it.
Speaking about the challenges with the pink ball in the second Test, Rohit said that when playing in Australia, we have to be mentally ready to bat under different conditions. It can be difficult but cannot be an excuse because the conditions are for both teams.
“You know when you come to Australia, you have to be mentally ready to bat under different conditions. It can be difficult, but that cannot be an excuse. The conditions are for both teams; they batted well and got the runs. We didn’t bat well enough to get enough runs.”
The 37-year-old showed confidence on the team and shed some light on the next Test in Brisbane; he referred to India’s past success at the venue.
“We are looking forward to it (the Gabba Test). Some really good memories there. We want to start well and play well. There’s not much time in between as well. You know we just want to go out there and think about what we did right, you know, in Perth and also what we did last time when we were here.”
The third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will start on December 14 at the Gabba, Brisbane. The last time when India played here, Rishabh Pant was at 89* unbeaten, chased down the score of 328, and handed Australia their first loss at the stadium since 1988, and it was a 2-1 series win for India. They will be looking forward to the same in the next Test.