 "India vs South Africa: Rohit laments abject surrender in Centurion, says visitors were 'not good enough' to win")
India skipper Rohit Sharma lamented his team’s abject surrender in the first Test against South Africa in Centurion, stating that they failed to adapt to the conditions and simply “were not good enough to win”.
India were bowled out for a paltry 131 in their second essay after conceding a sizeable 163-run first innings lead to the Proteas, with left-arm pacer Nandre Burger capping off a memorable Test debut for the Proteas with a haul of 4/33.
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Virat Kohli top-scored for the visitors with a fighting 76 off 82 balls, accounting for more than half of his team’s runs as the rest of the batters crumbled in the face of sustained pressure from the all-pace Proteas attack.
“We were not good enough to win. Having been put into bat, KL batted well to get us that score but then we didn’t exploit the conditions with the ball and then again didn’t show up today with the bat. If we have to win Test matches, we have to come together collectively and we didn’t do that. Guys have come here before, we know what to expect and everyone has their own plan. Our batters were challenged and we didn’t adapt well,” Rohit said during the post-match presentation.
Much like Kohli on Day 3, wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul was the only individual to go past fifty in the first innings. He would end the opening day unbeaten on 70 and would bring up a hard-fought century — his second on the trot in Centurion and eighth overall in Tests — the following day.
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View All“This is a boundary scoring ground, we saw them score many but we need to understand the opposition and their strengths as well. We didn’t bat well in both innnings, that’s why we stand here. Not too many positives to finish the game within 3 days, but KL showed what we need to do on this sort of pitch,” Rohit added.
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The defeat not only helped South Africa go 1-0 up in the two-Test series heading into the New Year’s fixture at the Newlands in Cape Town, it also dashed India’s hopes of conquering the ‘Final Frontier’ — defeating South Africa in a Test series in South Africa — in the ongoing tour.
Despite the disappointment of the humbling defeat, Rohit maintained it was important for the visitors to regroup ahead of their trip to Cape Town and come back stronger.
“Important for us to regroup, we go through these times as sportsmen and we need to be ready for the next Test now,” Rohit signed off.
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