"Hard to pinpoint where...": India skipper Rohit Sharma's take on first Test defeat
Jan 28, 2024
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], January 28 : India skipper Rohit Sharma stated that it was hard to pinpoint the moment when the momentum shifted towards England in the first Test.
After dominating England for the majority of four days, India found themselves on the losing side with a 28-run defeat.
After a fruitful outing with the ball, the hosts managed to take a lead of 190 runs, Ollie Pope pulled out reverse sweeps, overwhelmed India's spinners with his 196 in the second innings and handed the hosts their first defeat after taking a lead of more than 100 runs.
"Hard to pinpoint where it went wrong. With a lead of 190 we were in control but exceptional batting - probably one of the best I've seen in Indian conditions, well played Ollie Pope. I thought 230 was gettable but it wasn't to be," Rohit said after the game.
"[Second innings] Thought we bowled in the right areas, we analysed what went well and what didn't. But you've got to take your hat off and say well played to Pope. Hard to look at one or two things. We didn't bat well enough to get to that score," Rohit added.
While India's established batters failed to pass Tom Hartley's spin Test, the lower order turned up against all odds and sent a ray of hope of an unprecedented victory.
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj added 25 runs for the final wicket to take India a step closer towards victory.
"[Last pair] 20-30 runs, anything is possible. The lower order fought well and showed the top order [what to do]. We didn't take some chances but that can happen, it's the first game of the series," Rohit stated.
Coming to the day's action, Pope's blitz helped England set a tricky target of 231. In reply, India batters strived hard after losing a handful of wickets in patches. The lower order showed patience with Ravichandran Ashwin and KS Bharat taking the fight against the spinners.
However, Hartley's spin proved to be a challenge that they could not overcome and ended up suffering a 28-run defeat.
