IND vs AUS 2nd ODI: Shubman Gill praises Rohit Sharma despite series defeat – ‘Missed out on a really big knock’ | Cricket News
India skipper Shubman Gill praised veteran batter and ex-captain Rohit Sharma after India’s defeat in the second ODI against Australia, which sealed a 2-0 series loss for the visitors. Gill highlighted Rohit’s fight against a challenging spell from Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, calling it a well-fought innings even if it fell short of a big score. Rohit scored 73 off 97 balls, while Shreyas Iyer contributed 61, helping India post a total of 264/9 in 50 overs. Gill, who managed scores of 9 and 0 himself, acknowledged the team faced difficulties in defending the total. “We had just enough runs on the board. Never easy when you drop a couple of chances to be able to defend that kind of a total,” he said during the post-match presentation. Gill also reflected on the impact of the toss, saying, “In the first game, the toss was more crucial because of the rain. But in this game, I would not say that much because both the teams played for almost 50 overs. The wicket was doing a little bit more initially. But I think the wicket settled pretty nicely after 15-20 overs.” Speaking specifically about Rohit, Gill noted the challenges he faced early in his innings. “The initial phase was very challenging. Very pleased with the way he batted. Fought out in the initial phase. I would say he missed out on a really big knock,” he added. Australia, batting second, were reduced to 54/2 but recovered with key contributions from Matt Short (74 in 78 balls), Cooper Connolly (61* in 53 balls), and Mitchell Owen (36 in 23 balls). Adam Zampa’s four-wicket haul earned him the Player of the Match award and helped Australia chase down the target with two wickets in hand. During India’s innings, early breakthroughs by Xavier Bartlett (3/39), which included Gill (9) and Virat Kohli (0), had put pressure on the team. Rohit and Iyer stabilized the innings with a 118-run partnership, while Axar Patel added 44 runs.
Poll
Was it a mistake to hand Shubman Gill the ODI captaincy given the series loss?
A late flourish from Harshit Rana (24*) and Arshdeep Singh (13) took India to their final total of 264/9. Gill’s comments highlighted both the positives from Rohit Sharma’s innings and the areas where India fell short in defending a competitive total.
