One of our worst performances with the bat, says Rohit

With regular skipper Virat Kohli rested for the last two matches, India's stand-in captain Rohit Sharma said the performance against New Zealand in the fourth One Day International match on Thursday was one of the worst performances with the bat.

Electing to field, pacer Trent Boult's five wicket haul and Colin de Grandhomme's disciplined bowling wreaked havoc in India's batting line-up to bowl them out for 92.

Despite having a long batting line-up, India failed miserably as only two batsmen -- Shikhar Dhawan (13) and Hardik Pandya (16) -- managed to reach double digits.

"One of our worst performances with the bat in a long, long time. Something we didn't expect. You got to give credit to the NZ bowlers," Rohit said after the match.

"At times, you need to absorb pressure (when asked about how to bat in swinging conditions). We need to blame ourselves for it. Thing were looking good at that stage. It was about applying ourselves," he added.

Towards the end when India were reeling at 55/8, chinaman Kuldeep Yadav (15) and leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (18 not out) forged a small but crucial 25-run partnership to help India reach 80 runs. Chahal was also the highest scorer for India.

"We played some bad shots as well. It's always challenging when the ball is swinging. Having a good run in the limited formats for a number of series. Everyone knows what went wrong," Rohit said.

"When you are playing for your country, you try to give your best. Good teams usually keep ticking the boxes and today we didn't tick the right boxes," he added.

--IANS

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