Blame Game In Indian Camp After HUGE Defeat Against Australia, Rohit Sharma Says THIS

Zee News

India's cricket captain Rohit Sharma acknowledged his team's inability to apply themselves with the bat, resulting in their humiliating 10-wicket loss to Australia in the second One Day International (ODI). In the match played in India, left-arm fast-bowler Mitchell Starc took five wickets to bundle out India for their fourth-lowest total at home. The hosts were dismissed for a mere 117 in just 26 overs, with Starc claiming his ninth five-wicket haul in ODI cricket. The defeat was India's heaviest in terms of balls left, with 234 balls remaining.

"It is disappointing. No doubt about that. We didn't play to our potential. We didn't apply ourselves with the bat. We always knew that was not enough runs. It was not a 117 pitch at all. By no means. We just didn't apply ourselves."

"(Starc) is a quality bowler. He's been doing it for years for Australia with the new ball. He kept bowling to his strength and we kept falling to his strength. That's something that we need to understand and play accordingly. All their bowlers bowled really well and put us under pressure," said Rohit in the post-match presentation ceremony.

Starc produced a spectacular display of swing bowling, dismissing India's top-order batsmen and eventually finishing with 5-53 after taking out Mohammed Siraj. Fellow fast-bowlers Sean Abbott and Nathan Ellis were equally impressive, taking three and two wickets, respectively. India's batting performance was highly disappointing, with four batsmen dismissed for ducks and only Virat Kohli and Axar Patel managing to score over 25 runs.

"It was a quick one. 37 overs for the game, you don't see that too often. I thought our bowlers were outstanding. Mitchell Starc in particular with that new ball swinging it back down the line and putting them under early pressure and he complimented really well with the rest of our bowling group."

"I didn't know how the wicket was going to play and how much it was going to swing. The way Mitch and Heady went out and went after them was impressive. Putting them under pressure. When you're chasing 118 you can break the back of it really quickly," he concluded.

In contrast, Australia chased down the target of 118 runs in just 11 overs, with opening pair Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head both scoring unbeaten quickfire fifties. With the series tied at 1-1, the two teams will face off in the decider at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday. Australia skipper Steve Smith expressed satisfaction with his team's all-round performance, which saw them outplay India in all departments of the game.