130 was not an easy chase: Rohit Sharma

India suffered their opening defeat of the T20 World Cup as South Africa edged past them in a close encounter, thanks to a collective effort from Aiden Markram and David Miller who stayed calm in the face of pressure to guide the Proteas home.

Talking at the post-match conference, the Indian captain, Rohit Sharma highlighted the challenges and the factors that cost India heavily. Raving about the pitch he said, “We expected the pitch to have something in it, with the weather around. We knew there will be help for the seamers. Which is why you saw that 130 was not an easy chase. I thought we fought well till the end but South Africa played well in the end. The pitch is such that the wicket can come any time for the seamers.”

He also lauded the match-winning partnership between Miller and Markram. “It was a match-winning partnership from Miller and Markram. But we were not good enough on the field. We have played in such conditions so conditions are not an excuse. We want to be consistent in that department. We could not hold on to our chances, we missed a few run-outs including myself," he added.

He also revealed why Ashwin was given the 18th over where Miller’s two gigantic maximums did South Africa a world of good, saying, “I have seen what happened at the last with the spinners. So I wanted to finish with Ashwin before the last over. I wanted to see that the seamers bowl the right overs. Given the new batter came in, it was the perfect time for Ashwin to bowl."