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Skipper Rohit Sharma admitted that India were not good enough to emerge victorious against South Africa in the first Test on Thursday.
India were completely bamboozled by the hosts, who dictated the flow of the game and clinched a victory by an innings and 32 runs. After the game, Rohit didn't hold back to give his take on the game and said, "We were not good enough to win. Having been put into bat, KL batted well to get us that score but then we didn't exploit the conditions with the ball and then again didn't show up today with the bat. If we have to win Test matches, we have to come together collectively, and we didn't do that." "Guys have come here before; we know what to expect and everyone has their own plan. Our batters were challenged and we didn't adapt well. This is a boundary-scoring ground; we saw them score many but we need to understand the opposition and their strengths as well. We didn't bat well in both innings; that's why we stand here. Not too many positives to finish the game within 3 days, but KL showed what we need to do on this sort of pitch," Rohit added. Rohit, who averaged above 13 in South African conditions, failed to provide the ideal start. Burger with his lethal bouncers and precise line and length, pushed India batters back against the wall. A game that seemed to be headed for the fourth day was concluded on the third day itself. India batters were no match for South Africa pacers as the pace trio of Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Burger ran through India's entire batting line-up. Virat Kohli was the sole batter who knew how to churn out runs on a surface, which proved to be too much for the rest of the batters. After a dismal start to their second innings, South Africa struck India hard by removing Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahu in quick succession. After Burger removed Ravichandran Ashwin for a golden duck, India's fate was more or less sealed. Jasprit Bumrah's runout following a brilliant effort in the field by Dean Elgar caused a mood of dismay. A brilliant review from the South Africa team saw Mohammed Siraj gloving the ball straight to the wicketkeeper. Prasidh Krishna struggled hard but Jansen got the better of Kohli (76) which brought an end to India's struggle within the first three days. (ANI)
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