India captain Rohit Sharma insisted his team was not mentally scarred after a heavy defeat in the second day-night Test against Australia in Adelaide.
The visitors entered the match high on confidence after a commanding win in the opening Test in Perth in the absence of regular captain Rohit.
While Jasprit Bumrah led a spirited team to a famous victory in the opening Test, India's long-standing issues cropped up again in the pink-ball match as their batting failed in both innings, resulting in a 10-wicket battering.
Left-arm fast-bowler Mitchell Starc broke India's back in the first innings with 6-48, which included the scalps of Perth centurions Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli. The tourists could only manage 180 after deciding to bat first.
Captain Pat Cummins then led the way in the second innings, claiming 5-57 and scything through the lower order, dismissing India for 175 in the second innings which gave the hosts a target of just 19.
However, the match was set up by India's nemesis Travis Head who smashed a superlative near run-a-ball 140.
Head had hit match-winning hundreds against India in the finals of the WTC and the 50-overs World Cup last year, and proved the deciding factor once again in Australia's score of 337.
Despite the team falling into old habits against the same opponents, Rohit insisted it is not a cause for concern.
“Firstly, it's not a [mental] scar, it's just we've lost a Test match,” he said.
“We didn't play well enough. So it's important in this short time that we have before the next Test match just to figure out certain things.
“You know, if you want to bat how we want to bat, and if you want to bowl, what lines and what lengths and what kind of fields placement we need to have.
“Those are the things more than anything else. Like I said, it's still one-all and plenty of things left in this series.”
One of the biggest differences in the two Tests was the lack of urgency in the field by India, and dispirited captaincy by Rohit.
The struggling captain had been criticised for his conservative field placings and selections in the 0-3 whitewash at home against New Zealand and continued in the same fashion in Australia.
According to reports, a series defeat in Australia will most certainly mean the end of Rohit's tenure as Test captain, and possibly as a player. For now, the beleaguered captain backed the team to bounce back soon.
“There’s definitely a way for us to get back into the game, and we need to find that within ourselves,” Rohit added. “There are a lot of individuals in that dressing room who have played a lot of cricket, won a lot of games, have come back from difficult situations in the past.
“We hope that everyone stands up to that challenge and takes the team through whenever it’s required.”
Australia captain Cummins, meanwhile, was proud of the way his team bounced back after being thumped by 295 runs in Perth.
The Aussies levelled the five-match series without injured front-line bowler Josh Hazlewood, who appears on track to play the third Test at the Gabba starting on Saturday.
“Great week, great to level the series. You know, I think we were back to our best,” said Cummins, who took seven wickets in the match.
“That's the kind of team that I remember, and how we want to play our cricket. So really satisfying.”
The defeat in Perth and negative media coverage made their eighth consecutive pink-ball win in Adelaide taste even better, he added.
“Being one down, no doubt there's a little bit more on it, trying to level up the series,” he said.
“And, you know, you get a bit more pumped up for wickets. It's a big series, every Test match is big, every wicket is pretty big. So it's pretty pumped out there.”
