It was a disappointing loss for India in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Test series in Melbourne. India had seven wickets in hand going into the final session but lost them to concede an 184-run loss. With this win, Australia go 2-1 up in the series with one to play.
Reflecting on the loss, India skipper Rohit Sharma said that the aim was to set the platform for them to go on and win the match. Rishabh Pant's wicket post-tea was the beginning of the end for India, as they lost their last seven wickets for just 34 runs in a span of about 20 overs.
"We knew 340 wasn't going to be easy. We tried to set a platform and keep wickets in hand for the last two sessions, but they bowled perfectly as well," Rohit said at the post-match presentation.
"We wanted to go for the target, but we didn't set the platform from our side. There are ways to win games and we fell short in finding ways to win games."
Rohit admits India had their chances, especially when they had Australia at 91/6, but allowed the game to slip away from there on letting the hosts score 234.
"It is pretty disappointing. It's not that we went in with the intent of giving up the fight. We wanted to fight till the end, and unfortunately, we couldn't do it. It'll be tough to assess just the last two sessions," he said.
"If you look at the overall Test match, we had our chances, but we didn't take them. We had Australia 90/6. We know things can get tough, but we want to play tough cricket in hard situations. I don't want to look at one situation."
Rohit also lauded Nitish Kumar Reddy, who scored his maiden ton in this game, for the character he showed.
"He's coming here for the first time, these conditions can get really tough, but he showed great character, solid technique as well. He's got everything to be successful at this level, I hope he goes from strength to strength, and he's got all the backing from the team as well," he said.
While praising Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit also rued the fact that he did not receive much support from the other end. The pacer is the leading wicket-taker in the series with 30 scalps.
"Absolutely brilliant. We've been watching him for so many years now, coming here and getting the job done. He's not a statistical person; just wants to play for the country and do well for the team, but unfortunately, he's not got a lot of support from the other side," the Indian skipper concluded.
India have a chance to draw level in the fifth and final Test in Sydney, which will get underway from January 3 onwards.