CRICKET
Rohit Sharma blames bowlers for Mohali T20 loss
India lost the first T20I against Australia at Mohali despite posting a huge total of 208 runs on the board.
In the post match interview, captain Rohit Sharma did some plain speaking when he was asked about the loss.
Rohit put the blame squarely on India’s below-par bowling performance.
Except Axar Patel, every Indian bowler was taken to the cleaners.
Seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar conceded 52 runs in 4 overs, while Harshal Patel was smashed for 49 runs in his 4.
Leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was hit for 42 in 3.2 overs.
Only Axar Patel redeemed his reputation with a brilliant spell of 3/17.
“I don’t think we bowled well. 200 is a good score to defend, and we didn’t take our chances in the field.”
“It was a great effort from our batters, but bowlers were quite not there. There are things we need to look at.” a disappointed Rohit admitted.
“We know this is a high-scoring ground. You can’t relax even if you get 200. We took wickets to an extent, but they played really well.”
“They played some extra-ordinary shots. If I was in that changing room, I would expect to chase that total. You can back yourself to get 60 runs in the final 4 overs. We were not able to take their wicket,” he added.
This loss shows a similar pattern to the defeats against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup earlier this month.
In both matches, India posted decent totals but toothless bowling during the death overs sealed India’s fate.
If India doesn’t solve this problem in the next 2 matches, it could be a major problem at the T20 World Cup.