After losing the first Test to South Africa inside three days, India captain Rohit Sharma admitted that the visitors’ batting was poor in the second innings and that they should have put in collective efforts with the bat.
On Thursday, India were served a humbling defeat by an innings and 32 runs to South Africa at SuperSport Park, with their chances of conquering the final frontier now becoming a distant dream yet again.
Horror show in Centurion
India’s batting in the second innings was very much like a horror movie, just like how their lacklustre bowling effort was, where they allowed South Africa to make 408 and conceded a lead of 163 runs.
Their second innings ran till 34.1 overs, eight batters fell for single-digit scores as South Africa’s bowlers, led by Nandre Burger’s four-fer to take his debut match tally to seven scalps, made merry in their home conditions.
Kohli wages lone batter in vain
Talismanic batter Virat Kohli tried to avoid the ignominy of an innings defeat, scoring a fighting 76 off 82 balls. But with his team-mates falling without giving a fight, his knock wasn’t just enough to delay the inevitable as India were bowled out for 131, and are now 1-0 behind in the two-game series.
Rohit admits batting failure led to defeat
“Not good enough. Got decent runs having been put in. KL Rahul batted brilliantly, but we failed to exploit conditions with the ball. Batting was poor in the second innings, Virat batted brilliantly but if you have to win Tests, have to come together collectively. We failed to do that.”
“Guys have come here before, we understand what to expect from the conditions. Every individual has his own plan. Our batters were challenged at different times. We didn't adapt well. We didn't bat well both times which is why we stand here,” said a dejected Rohit in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Very few positives to write home about
Barring Kohli’s 76 and KL Rahul's magnificent first-innings 101, there were very little positives for India to take from the chastening loss.
“There were some positives. Not a lot when you finish the game inside three days. KL the way he batted, he showed what you need to do on that kind of pitch,” said Rohit.
With two extra days off and second Test starting from January 3 in Cape Town, there is plenty of time for India to regroup and now aim to draw the series. “Don't want to be too critical on the bowlers, they haven't played much here. We'll regroup and come back.”
“It's important to regroup as quickly as we can, tough from a loss like these but as sportsmen you go through these times. Got to pick ourselves up,” stated Rohit.
