‘New Zealand played better than us, we failed to capitalise on certain moments’ - Captain Rohit Sharma after Test series loss

Team India suffered their first home Test series defeat in 12 years. The batting unit failed to live up to the expectations in Pune, resulting in a defeat by 113 runs. The hosts never looked in control of the game as New Zealand spinners, particularly Mitchell Santner kept the hosts in check the entire time and eventually got the job done for his team. He was also adjudged the Player of the Match for his incredible 13-wicket haul in the game.

Meanwhile, after the series defeat, India captain Rohit Sharma noted that his team failed to capitalize on certain moments, which led to the defeat. The 37-year-old explained that the players didn’t respond well to the challenges and also didn’t bat well in either of the innings. He also gave credit to the visitors for playing well and picking up the win in Pune.

“It's not what we expected. Got to give credit to NZ - they played better than us. We failed to capitalise on certain moments. We failed to respond to those challenges. We didn't think we batted well enough to get runs on the board. You've got to pick 20 wickets to win, yes, but batters have to put runs on the board. Was a great fightback to restrict them to 250-odd but we knew it was going to be challenging,” Rohit said in the post-match presentation.

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Things would've been slightly different had we got a bit closer in the first innings: Rohit

Besides, Rohit expects the team to put up a better performance in the third Test at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. He revealed that the surface in Pune wasn’t extremely difficult to bat on but the players didn’t take their chances in the middle. However, he clarified that none of the players deserve to be blamed and he hopes that everyone comes out with a better intent, idea and method in the final game of the series.

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“Wasn't a pitch where a lot was happening. We just didn't bat well enough. Things would've been slightly different had we got a bit closer in the first innings. We want to show up well at Wankhede and try and win that Test. It's a collective failure. I'm not somebody who would blame just the batters or the bowlers. We will come out with better intent, better ideas and better methods at Wankhede,” Rohit concluded.