Adelaide: India skipper Rohit Sharma’s return to the Test side after missing the Perth Test win didn’t end on a happy note, as the visitors’ were handed a ten-wicket thrashing by Australia inside three days of the day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval.
Rohit, who made three and six with the bat after dropping down to number six, faced flak for his subdued captaincy and errors in his bowling changes. He admitted India didn’t grab some opportunities in the game which ultimately cost them the match.
“Disappointing week for us. We didn’t play well enough to win the game. Australia played better than us. There were times in the game where we could have grabbed those opportunities but we failed to do that and that has cost us the game.
“What we did in Perth was very special and we wanted to come out here and do that again but again, we know that every Test match has its own challenge. We knew it was going to be challenging with the pink ball. But like I said, Australia was better than us,” he said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
With the five-match series now at 1-1, Rohit added India are looking forward to the Gabba Test, starting on December 14. “Not much time in between as well. We just want to go out there and think back to what we did right in Perth and also what we did last time we were there. We have some really good memories there. We understand the challenge of every Test match so we want to start well and play well.”
Australia skipper Pat Cummins, who picked 5-57 in the morning session on day three, was thrilled with getting a comprehensive win at Adelaide after losing the Perth Test by 295 runs. “A great week. We knew we were far away from the team we want to be in Perth. This is back to how we want to play. The rhythm felt pretty good this week. Good to get a few wickets.”
He also credited Mitchell Starc for setting the tone of the win with his 6-48 on day one. “There’s not that much noise in the group, (but) Starc is amazing. He does it time and time again. Feel very lucky and privileged that he’s in our team.
“Scotty (Boland) just fitted in straightaway, like he always does. He probes with every ball, top of off. Hopefully, Josh is back next week. But even then Scotty is unbelievable. He (Lyon) will jump in the ice bath, he has had a big week.”
Cummins further said the main thing about the commanding ten-wicket victory was getting the 152-run lead and lauded Travis Head for taking the match out of India’s reach with his superb 140.
“He loves batting here. The game could have gone either way when Head went out to bat but he shifted the momentum. The main thing was the lead. It was a pretty good time to bowl as well. The ball does a bit more under lights but the big thing was getting a big lead,” said Cummins.
(IANS)
