‘We didn't bat well in the first innings’ - Rohit Sharma reflects on second Test loss against New Zealand

Team India lost the second Test of the ongoing three-game series against New Zealand. Both sides locked horns at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune, and after three days of cricket, it was New Zealand who eventually came out on top after a dominant showing. 

Having posted 259 runs in the first innings, New Zealand limited India to a score of 156 runs and followed it up by scoring 255 runs, giving the hosts a target of 359 runs to chase down. India, in response, were only able to score 245 as New Zealand won the game by 113 runs. 

After the game, India skipper Rohit Sharma came forward and talked about the side’s performance. He expressed his disappointment over the showing and talked about the pitch as well. 

“We didn't bat well in the first innings. We got only 150 and the batters do understand that they failed to you know respond to that pressure, that challenge of playing on whatever pitch. The pitch was not bad at all. We just didn't play well enough to get to that first inning, closer to that first inning score of theirs,” Rohit said in the post-match press conference. 

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We failed to respond to that pressure: Rohit Sharma

Furthermore, the India skipper talked about the partnership of Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the second innings but opined that losing wickets in quick succession saw them come under pressure and eventually crumble.

“And then with 100 runs behind we always knew that it is going to be challenging whatever score we have to get because as the game went on the pitch started behaving slightly differently. And then 359 to get. We knew that the mindset that we had was wanting to get those runs. We had a great partnership with Jaiswal and Gil in the middle but again then we lost wickets you know quickly after that. And then obviously we knew that the game was slipping out of our hands and then you know we failed to respond to that pressure,” Rohit said.