Rohit Sharma blames the batsmen for crushing Hamilton defeat: The captain sounded unhappy with how his batsmen batted.
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During the fourth ODI of the ongoing India’s tour of New Zealand at Hamilton, New Zealand defeated India by 8 wickets in a formidable performance. Coming on the back of losing three consecutive matches, the hosts put on display an outstanding effort to dismiss India on 92 in 30.5 overs.
New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult’s fifth ODI five-wicket haul, 10-4-21-5, played a major role as the visitors fell like a pack of cards. Apart from him, Colin de Grandhomme picked up three and James Neesham and Todd Astle dismissed a batsman each.
New Zealand sealed the chase even before the lunch break. Opening batsman Henry Nicholls and veteran Ross Taylor stitched a 54-run stand for the third wicket which saw them winning the match in the 15th over.
With 212 balls remaining in the second innings, the defeat is India’s biggest (in terms of balls remaining) in ODIs surpassing Sri Lanka beating them by 8 wickets (with 209 balls remaining) at Dambulla in 2010. Claiming it to be one of India’s worst performances with the bat, stand-in India captain Rohit Sharma lashed out at the batsmen during the post-match presentation ceremony.
“One of our worst performances with the bat for a long time. Something we didn’t expect. You got to give credit to the NZ bowlers. It was a magnificent effort. Something to learn for us.
“We need to blame ourselves for it. Thing were looking good at that stage. It was about applying ourselves. Once you get in, things will start to look easier. We played some bad shots as well,” Sharma was quoted as saying.
While India haven’t faced much of swing during his recent success in Australia and New Zealand, they were found wanting on being encountered with the same today. Being asked about the same, Sharma said that the batsmen didn’t apply themselves and need to deal with the swing in a better way in the future.
“At times, you need to absorb pressure. It’s always challenging when the ball is swinging. Having won the series doesn’t mean we should relax. Everyone knows what went wrong. There will be times when it swings and we need to deal with it.
“When you are playing for your country, you try to give your best. Good teams usually keep ticking the boxes and today we didn’t tick the right boxes,” Sharma concluded.
