IND vs SA: "It's Not That We Don't Know How To Bat Outside India" - Rohit Sharma After 1st Test Loss

India captain Rohit Sharma acknowledged the team’s subpar batting display in the recent Boxing Day Test against South Africa. Rohit Sharma argued that a single match shouldn’t overshadow the team’s performances in Australia and England in the last few years.

The Indian team suffered an innings and 32-run defeat in the first Test against South Africa within three days. The visiting team managed scores of 245 runs and 131 runs in their two innings, while the Proteas posted a formidable 408 in their sole batting innings.

Apart from KL Rahul’s century in the first innings and Virat Kohli’s 76 runs in the second, India witnessed a lack of noteworthy batting performances. Rohit Sharma contributed just 5 runs, while Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill struggled to make an impact with the bat.

Kagiso Rabada and debutant Nandre Burger showcased their skills and created challenges for the Indian batters. The visitors managed to bat a total of 111.5 overs across both innings. In contrast, South Africa batted for 108.4 overs in their first innings during the match.

Oppositions Play Better Than Us – Rohit Sharma

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Rohit attributed the Centurion defeat to occasional superior opposition play. He defended India’s overseas batting proficiency, citing comprehensive records over the past four tours outside the subcontinent.

“Yes, we had a performance like this here. But, don’t forget, what we did in Australia and England. In Australia, we won the series, there our batters stepped up. In England, we drew a series, we shone with both bat and ball,” Rohit said.

“These type of performances happen. It’s not that we don’t know how to bat outside India. At times, oppositions play better than us and win matches. I think that’s what happened here. It’s not like the opposition batted 110 overs and we didn’t bat as many putting together both innings. In the last 4 tours outside India, go and see our records (batting numbers),” he added.

We Are Going To Analyze – Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma stressed the significance of leaving the loss behind and maintaining confidence in the team for the upcoming match, which is scheduled to be played in Cape Town from January 3 to 7, 2024.

“Absolutely, that’s the job of a captain (putting pressure). It’s not always going to be happy days on the field for the captain. It’s days like these in which a captain needs to stand up and just get around with the team, more than anything else.”

“For me also, more importantly, thinking too much about this game… yes, of course, we are going to analyze what we could have done better. But, I think it’s important to leave a loss like this right here and not take it with us to Cape Town. But, yeah, we can lean from what went wrong. When you take up the job, this is what you sign up for. I have full confidence in the guys we have now. It’s about making sure we stand with each other, at this point in time,” Rohit added.

In preparation for their quest for a maiden Test series win in South Africa, India opted not to engage in any first-class practice matches. Instead, the Indian team participated in an intra-squad encounter held in Pretoria as part of their strategic preparation.

Also read: IND vs SA: “All Jasprit Bumrah Wanted Was A Bit Of Support From The Other End” – Rohit Sharma