Pat on back for Aussies
melbourne: India slumped to a demoralising 184-run loss to Australia in the fourth Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy here on Monday with contemporary greats Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli failing to come good yet again, signalling that their walk towards the exit door is not too far.
Chasing a near improbable target of 340, both Rohit (nine off 40 balls) and Kohli (five) failed to battle their technical frailties and mental cobwebs as India lost seven wickets for 34 runs in just 20.4 overs in the final session to be all out for 155 in 79.1 overs. Australian captain Pat Cummins (3/28 in 18 overs) was superb as usual and Scott Boland was also magnificent (3/39 in 16 overs) in his every spell.
Nathan Lyon (2/37 in 20.1 overs) took advantage of variable bounce while Mitchell Starc (1/25 in 16 overs) got the prized scalp of Kohli.
This was after an 88-run fourth-wicket stand between Yashasvi Jasiwal and Rishabh Pant.
“Pretty disappointing. We wanted to fight but we could not do it,” a dejected Rohit said in the post-match presentation. “We tried everything but they fought hard. We did not grab our chances,” he conceded.
Australia now lead the series 2-1 and unless India draw level in Sydney, a third successive World Test Championship final could become a distant dream. India also need to post a win to retain the trophy. Except Jaiswal (84 off 208 balls), whose controversial caught-behind in which the third umpire overruled technology to adjudge him out, none of the other batters performed well enough to save the team.
Rohit down and out?
Rohit looked shattered as he confessed to being “disturbed” after the heavy loss, saying there are “things” that he needs to address at a personal level apart from the team’s collective problems amid intense focus on his form.
With 31 runs in six innings across three Tests, the Indian skipper’s tally is just one more than Jasprit Bumrah’s series wicket-haul of 30. The clamour for Test retirement have reached a crescendo and Sydney could be his final port of call in whites but he doesn’t want to go out without a fight.
“I stand where I am standing today. There is nothing to think about what has happened in the past. Obviously, few results have not gone our way. As a captain, yes, that is disappointing,” he said.
“You know, a lot of the things that I am trying to do is not falling in the place that I would want to. But mentally, look, you know, it is disturbing without a doubt. There are things that we as a team need to look at. I personally need to as well,” he said.
