In a candid post-match reflection following India’s historic whitewash in the Test series against New Zealand, captain Rohit Sharma took full responsibility for the team’s disappointing performance. The series concluded with India suffering their first home Test series defeat in over a decade, losing the third and final match by 25 runs in Mumbai.
Rohit Sharma’s admission of his failure as captain
Wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant put in a valiant effort to mount a rescue act and help the hosts secure a consolation win in the three-match leg. However, his dismissal became the final blow, allowing New Zealand to clinch a memorable series victory.
Skipper Rohit expressed deep disappointment during the post-match presentation, stating: “It is quite tough. It tells you that nothing is easy in life. One day you are at a high, and one day, you are not. This is what I have learnt in my life. It is important for me to understand that life is not all about highs, it is about lows as well.
“Something like this will be a very low point in my career, having lost 3 matches at home. I fully take responsibility of that as a captain and leader. I have not been at the best of my abilities right from the start of the series. With the bat as well, I have not been good enough,” he added.
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Rohit also admitted that the home series loss to New Zealand is hard to accept. The hosts struggled to find their rhythm throughout the series, facing one batting collapse after another on pitches that offered assistance to the spinners.
“Yeah, absolutely, you know, losing a series, losing a Test is never easy, it’s something that’s not easily digestible. Again, we didn’t play our best cricket, we know and we have to accept. They did so much better than us. We made a lot of mistakes and we’ll have to accept it. We didn’t put enough runs on the board in the first innings [in Bengaluru and Pune] and we were behind in the game,” said the 37-year-old.
“Here, we got a 30-run lead, we thought we were ahead, the target was achievable as well, we had to do better though. You want runs on the board as well, that’s something that was there in my mind, it didn’t come off and when it happens, it doesn’t look great. There are certain ideas on my mind when I go to bat, but in this series, it didn’t come off and that’s disappointing for me,” he concluded.
Rohit & Co. will now travel to Australia for the five-match Test series, starting November 22. India have to win at least 4 Tests against Australia to confirm their place for the WTC 2025 Final.