India vs Australia 1st T20: Rohit Sharma SLAMS bowlers, says THIS after side fail to defend 208

The India skipper Rohit Sharma said the defeat makes the match a great opportunity to understand what went wrong and where the team faltered.

Photo: IANS

Skipper Rohit Sharma pointed out the poor efforts by his bowlers and fielders as the reasons for India’s four-wicket defeat to T20 World Champions Australia in the opening T20I match of the three-match series in Mohali on Tuesday (September 20). Though the batters did well, especially Hardik Pandya (71 not out), who made a late charge with three sixes off the last three deliveries of the innings, K.L Rahul (55) and Suryakumar Yadav (46), which helped the host reach 208/6 in 20 overs -- their highest score in a T20 against Australia.

But the visitors chased the target easily, thanks to Cameron Green (61 off 30), a 35 of 24 by Steve Smith and a 45 not out by Matthew Wade as they reached 211/6 in 19.2 overs. Rohit said, his bowlers did not bowl well despite defending a big total.

“I don’t think we bowled that well. 200 is a good score to defend and at the same time, we didn’t take our chances on the field. That’s about it,” Rohit Sharma said during the post-match ceremony at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium.

Things went right down to the wire but it's Australia who won the first #INDvAUS T20I.#TeamIndia will look to bounce back in the second T20I.

Scorecard https://t.co/ZYG17eC71l pic.twitter.com/PvxtKxhpav

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 20, 2022

Rohit said it was all a matter of taking one wicket – between Wade and Tim David (18 off 14 balls) to seal victory in the match. “For us, it was just about that one wicket between Wade and Tim David. And we were not able to do that. I think they got a 60-odd partnership in 32 balls, which was a turning point from their perspective,” said Rohit.

The India skipper said the defeat makes the match a great opportunity to understand what went wrong and where the team faltered. “I think we batted brilliantly to get to that score. It was a great game for us to understand where we went wrong and what we can do better in the next game,” he said.

(with IANS inputs)