Rohit: 'Three hours of bad cricket is not going to define what this team is'

“And we really found a way to come back in this game with the bat in the second innings. Of course, we lost a Test match. That's why it probably won't make sense what I'm talking about. But I honestly feel like that A lot of good things have happened in this game, so it's about keeping a very calm atmosphere, and not sending panic messages.”

After being given a lead of 356, India made a stunning comeback in the second innings with Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal getting them a good start before Virat Kohli and Sarfaraz Khan's partnership took them ahead. And when Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz joined forces, India started dreaming of the unimaginable: victory.

Although that didn't happen, Rohit was proud of India's bounce back.

“It was great, especially because I was behind in the game. It's easy to let the game drift away, but that's not what this team is about. This team wants to stay in the game as long as possible and not take it leaving the players. the opposition so easily after day one [two]obviously nothing went our way. We were bowled out for 46 and then they were 190 [180] for 3 and for us the beginning of that second [third] The day was very important, not to let them get too far ahead.

“But that partnership between Rachin [Ravindra] And [Tim] Southee actually went a little further than we thought. But again, in the second innings with the bat to come out and play like that, it felt like we were ahead of the game at one point. We didn't feel like we were 350 [356] behind and that is something I am very proud of.

“If the boys show that kind of attitude on the field with the bat, it shows that the mentality is very clear. The boys want to go out and play with freedom and try to see how we can put the pressure back on.” the opposition Overall, apart from those first few hours, three hours, I thought we played some really good Test cricket.

It was not just the number of runs India scored in their second innings, but also the manner in which they did it, scoring almost four runs per over during their innings. When Sarfaraz and Pant were together, they added 177 runs for the fourth wicket off 211 balls. Sarfaraz hit 18 fours and three sixes in his 150, and Pant hit nine fours and five sixes in his 99.

Rohit said India will not change its aggressive stance regardless of whether the country is ahead or behind.

“When we are behind the game, you want to push the pedal even more and try to make an impact. Don't try to let the opponent know that we are under pressure or that we are behind the game. If we are behind you, you want to try to make extraordinary to do things and play without any fear. It's one thing to talk about it, but basically we went out and played fearless cricket.

“Some of the shots that some guys played in the middle, knowing we were 350 down, shows what we've been talking about and what they want to do there. And that's how it will stay here.

“Even if we are ahead in the game, we are not going to change our attitude. And on the other hand, even if we are behind the game, we are going to try to see how we can put the pressure on the players.” the opposition. Some of the Test matches we have played recently show what I am talking about and that is how it will go.

“We are not afraid of losing a Test match by changing our mentality. We want to have that consistent mentality by trying to find a way to win Test matches. Even if you are behind in the game, you have to find a way or it's putting pressure on the bowler or putting pressure on the batters by doing different things.”

India went in with three spinners – R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja – for this Test, but the move backfired as the trio was not as penetrating as usual. A major reason for that was Ravindra, who scored 130 of his 173 runs in two innings against spin at a strike rate of 100. Rohit accepted that he was the difference between the two sides.

“In the first innings I thought whatever we could get out of the field, our spinners tried and did everything possible. But some of the shots that Rachin played were really good and he played really good cricket. He played well against the spinners, they challenged him, but you have to give him credit.

“He understood what our spinners were trying to do and did not shy away from playing his natural game which got him the result against our quality spinners. Sometimes it happens where that is not the case, sometimes even, there will be times when some of the batters coming to India will play well against our spinners.

'We saw in the English seriesin the first Test match a few of their batters got hundreds and even here, Rachin, [Devon] Conway, they played well, put pressure on our bowlers, pressure on spinners by playing different shots, which can happen no matter what we expect from their batters.

“Everyone who comes to India now is trying to put pressure on the bowlers by doing different things, different methods, but we know exactly what to do when such a situation arises.”