1st T20I: We did not bowl well, 200 was a good score to defend, says Rohit Sharma

Mohali, Sep. 21 (IANS): Skipper Rohit Sharma pointed out the poor efforts by his bowlers and fielders as the reasons for India’s four-wicket defeat to World Champions Australia in the opening T20I match of the three-match series here on Tuesday.

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 here.

Rohit said it was all a matter of taking one wicket –between Wade and Tim David (18 off — 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 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.