India captain Rohit Sharma said that those three hours in which India collapsed to 46 all out on day 2 won’t dictate how the team fared after he won the toss and chose to bat first against New Zealand in Bengaluru.
New Zealand defeated India by eight wickets in the first Test of the three-match series, despite a spirited effort by the hosts in the second innings, when they reached 462 runs. Rohit stated one poor performance will not determine his team's ability to play excellent cricket and recover from a difficult scenario.
"I am not going to look too much into this Test match honestly because those three hours are not going to dictate what this team is. You know, because it will be unfair to think about those three hours and start judging players and talk slightly differently.
It's important to keep a consistent message in the group. We really found a way to come back into this game with the bat in the second innings. Of course, we lost a Test match. But I feel a lot of good things have happened in this game,” Rohit Sharma said in a post-match press conference.
The captain admitted that India made some 'small mistakes' but emphasized the necessity of avoiding "panicking" ahead of the next encounter.
"We have made small mistakes in this game and we are suffering the consequences. But that doesn't mean that everything is over. We have lost such matches before and we have made a comeback after that. So, we will try not to think too much about this Test,” he added.
Rohit said the focus will be on staying strong as a unit ahead of the second Test, starting in Pune on October 24.
"Now, it's just about keeping a very calm atmosphere, and not to send panic messages. It's important that we stay strong and try and see how we can nail that second game,” he said.
Rohit was delighted to see Sarfaraz Khan stepping up after getting drafted in as a replacement for Shubman Gill, who missed the first Test due to a stiff neck.
"It felt like we were ahead in the game at one stage. We didn't feel like we were 350 behind and that is something that I am really proud of. It's always nice to have this kind of players waiting to play the game. It was unfortunate that Shubman missed this game. Sarfaraz took that opportunity and got a big 100. It's a good sign for the team,” he added.
Rohit added that Gill is feeling fine at the moment, indicating that a call on his availability for the second Test will be taken at a later stage.
Rohit declined to pick out any bowler as being unimpressive. Jasprit Bumrah had a good Test match, grabbing three wickets and not allowing many runs. His pace mate, Mohammed Siraj, was a bit of a disappointment.
Siraj took two wickets in the first innings, but he didn't have the expected impact as the second bowler.
"Bumrah got a couple of wickets so I want him to bowl an extended spell (in the second innings). We tried really hard with the new ball, Siraj bowled a brilliant spell as well but didn't get the result. ,” Rohit signed off.
(PTI inputs)
