'Be a little brave. Need a few guys to stand up': Rohit Sharma's stony message to batters after IND's 9-wicket hammering
The batters were blown away by Australian spin trio comprising Nathan Lyon, Matthew Kuhnemann, and Todd Murphy as the India were packed for 109 in the first innings and 163 in the second.
After starting the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on a resounding note, Rohit Sharma-led Team India were handed a reality check in Indore, where the hosts lost the third Test against Australia by nine wickets on Friday. The batters were blown away by Australian spin trio comprising Nathan Lyon, Matthew Kuhnemann, and Todd Murphy as the hosts were packed for 109 in the first innings and 163 in the second.
While Murphy helped Australia check the run flow, Kuhnemann and Lyon troubled the Indian batters with their clinical display. Kuhnemann completed a five-wicket haul in the first innings, while Lyon accounted for 11 Indian wickets in both the innings combined, out of which eight came in the second.
Reflecting his thoughts on the tough defeat, India skipper Rohit Sharma didn't hesitate to put the blame on the batters, pointing out that most allowed the opposition bowlers to bowl at a particular spot, thus helping them take build pressure.
“We need to understand, no matter what the pitches are, you got to come out and do the job. We need to keep it simple and follow the plan. When you are playing on challenging pitches, we need to be brave. We allowed their bowlers to bowl on one particular spot. Not taking any credit away from their bowlers. especially Nathan Lyon, he kept challenging us hitting the right lengths. When the bowler is trying to do that, got to be a little brave which I thought we were not,” said Rohit during the post-match presentation ceremony.
“Its all about everyone coming together and chipping in. We want few guys stand up and put their hand up to take the team through,” he added.
The encounter in Indore was a nightmare for the Indian batters, excluding Cheteshwar Pujara, who played a gritty 59-run knock in the second innings before a special effort by Steve Smith at leg slip brought an end to his stay in the middle. Pujara's innings helped India post a respectable 163 on the board in the second innings, leaving Australia with a paltry 76-run target.
Apart from him and Shreyas Iyer, who scored a quickfire 26 off 27 balls, none of the other batters could resist the Aussie attack. Iyer too displayed a positive intent and smashed three boundaries and two sixes before Usman Khawaja plucked a sharp catch at short mid-wicket to send him back to the pavilion.
Following the win, Australia also sealed a spot for the much-anticipated finals of the World Test Championship, which will be played at The Oval in June. India are yet to seal the remaining berth, which they will if they manage to beat Australia in the final Test of the series, which is scheduled to start from March 9 in Ahmedabad.
