We were not good enough on the day: Rohit Sharma after World Cup final loss
Ahmedabad, Nov 19: Indian skipper Rohit Sharma on Sunday admitted that his side was not good enough, especially as a batting unit, in the World Cup final against Australia here.
The Aussies bowled out India for a below-par 240 on a tricky pitch and then chased it down in 43 overs for a six-wicket win to bag a record sixth 50-over world title.
"The result hasn't gone our way and we know that we were not good enough on the day. But I am proud of the team. Honestly, 20-30 runs (more) would've been good. We didn't bat well enough," said Rohit in the post-match presentation.
Rohit said the team was looking to score around 280 when Virat Kohli and KL Rahul were batting. Kohli and Rahul stitched together a rearguard stand for the fourth wicket to steady India after early blows.
"I thought when KL and Virat were batting, we were looking at 270-280 at that point but we kept losing wickets," said Rohit.
The 36-year-old credited the way centurion Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne batted and put up a massive 192 runs for the match-winning fourth-wicket stand for the Aussies.
"Australia stitched a big partnership after losing three wickets. With 240 on the board, we wanted early wickets but credit to Travis Head and Marnus. They put us completely out of the game."
Rohit said the surface got better to bat under lights without using it as an excuse for their poor show.
"I thought the wicket got better to bat under lights. I mean we knew it would be under lights, but I don't want to give that as an excuse.
"But credit to those two guys (Head and Labuschagne) in the middle for stitching that big partnership for the Aussies," Rohit noted.
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Leopard spotted near Kadri Manjunath Temple in Mangaluru
Mangaluru: A leopard was spotted in Doctors’ Colony near the Kadri Manjunath Temple area in Mangaluru in the early hours of Monday, February 23, creating anxiety among residents of the locality.
According to local residents, the animal was spotted in the CCTV footage of two cameras installed in the locality around 1 am near the entrance gate of Doctors’ Colony. The footage shows the leopard walking calmly in front of the gate before moving out of view.
The sighting has come as a surprise as the area is largely urbanised, with apartment complexes and villa-type houses dominating the surroundings. Except for a small patch of forested land above the Kadri temple area, there is little greenery nearby. Residents say the concrete landscape offers limited scope for wild animals to find food.
This is not the first time wild animals have been spotted in the locality. Two years ago, a wild gaur had entered the same area and was later guided back into the forest through Shaktinagar. Just last week, a smaller leopard was sighted in Shaktinagar and was also captured on CCTV cameras. Now, a bigger leopard has been recorded near Kadri.
So far, no one has reported a direct sighting of the animal, and no formal complaint has been lodged with the Forest Department.
Forest Department officials said leopard movement is common during the months of January and February, as the animals often enter human settlements in search of food. In areas near forests, they usually prey on poultry and stray dogs.
Officials added that leopards are capable of travelling 15 to 20 kilometres in a single night and generally do not remain in one place if they are unable to find food. While sightings are more common in forest-fringe areas such as Bajpe and Neermarga, repeated appearances within core city limits this time have caused concern among residents.
