I have not been at my best from the start of the series: Rohit Sharma

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MUMBAI: The last time Rohit Sharma had stepped into Wankhede Stadium before the third Test against New Zealand, he was a captain who could do no wrong. That was four months ago and he was basking in glory, having led India to the T20 World Cup triumph. Amidst joyous scenes, the Indian players went on an open-bus parade on Marine Drive and then celebrated with dance and music inside the iconic ground.

How quickly do things change? On Sunday, Rohit cut a sorry figure as the first India Test captain to suffer a whitewash in a three-match home series, against a New Zealand side few gave a chance when they had landed in the country.

“Yeah, it is quite tough (from T20 World Cup win to the NZ defeat); it tells you nothing is easy in life. One day you’re on a high, one day you’re not. That is something I’ve learned at a very young age about life. But personally, I drive myself by not getting carried away with certain things.

“It is important for me to understand that life is not about just highs, there can be lows, which I’ve seen a lot through my career. Something like this will be a very low point in my career, having lost three games at home. I fully take responsibility for that as a captain and as a leader. I have not been at the best of my abilities right from the start of the series. With the bat as well, I have not been good enough,” Rohit said after his team capitulated for 121 in a 147-run chase, losing the third Test by 25 runs.

Rohit’s batting failures hurt the team with Virat Kohli’s failures adding to India’s woes. Apart from his 52 in the second innings of the Bengaluru Test, Rohit made 2, 0, 8, 18 and 11. Questions about his batting form have cropped up before this series as well. While India won both Tests against Bangladesh, he averaged 10.50 in four innings with a top score of 23.

On Sunday, his early dismissal (11) holing out to midwicket trying to pull Matt Henry sparked a top-order collapse, reducing India to 29/5. His ultra-aggressive approach has come under scrutiny. Going for shots from the start is what has given him success in T20 and ODI cricket. But adopting that style in Tests has backfired. In Mumbai, New Zealand had a target of only 147 to chase in the fourth innings. Rohit straightaway went for his shots. He hit two fours but fell playing his favourite shot.

“As for shot selection, it wasn’t up to the mark, starting from me. But when you are chasing a target like that, you want to try and put the pressure on the bowlers. You can’t allow bowlers to bowl on one particular slot. You have to try and do something about it. I played a bad shot, yes, but I don’t regret because that (pull) has given me a lot of success; so, I will continue to do that. Every now and then, I reflect on what I need to do as a batter. But I know how things work here: when things don’t go well, questions are asked. If things are going well, no questions are asked.”

The ultra-attacking approach also raises the question whether he has enough faith in his defence. “I haven’t defended a lot in this series because I haven’t been there much to defend. I have to look at my game and try and see what best I can do. When I go to bat, I always think about how I can put the team in the best situation of the game so sometimes when the openers go in, they set the tone. Sometimes you can fall on the other side of it as well, and in this series I have fallen. I don’t see that I have lost faith in my defence. It’s just that I need to spend more time defending balls, which I haven’t done in this series.

“I accept that I haven’t batted well in this series. But it’s been only these two series where I have not had enough time in the middle. In the series that I played before Bangladesh, I spent a lot of time. So, I will have a relook of my game and see what best I can do.”

Rohit’s captaincy too came under fire. He admitted his mistake reading the Bengaluru pitch after India were shot out for 46, their lowest total at home. Experts also said his captaincy was too defensive in the Pune Test.

“As for my captaincy, I made a decision about batting first on that Bangalore pitch, which was not right. I made certain tactical errors also. Those decisions didn’t go my way. You obviously take chances with those decisions. Sometimes it comes off, sometimes it doesn’t. And this time around it didn’t.

“I was not at my best of my leadership and it probably cost us the series as well.”

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