Rohit concedes his form is ‘disturbing’ for beaten India

MELBOURNE: India captain Rohit Sharma admitted on Monday his batting form is "disturbing" after a double failure in the 184-run fourth Test loss to Australia in Melbourne.

Rohit also highlighted the need for team-mate Rishabh Pant to bat more sensibly after throwing his wicket away twice in the defeat, which leaves the tourists trailing 2-1 in the series. Their batting will need to improve for the fifth and final Test starting in Sydney on Friday, which India must win to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

India´s highest run-scorers at the Melbourne Cricket Ground were their two youngest players, continuing a bountiful series for both. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal´s 84 made up more than half of India´s second innings of 155, complementing his first innings knock of 82.

All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy scored a fighting maiden century in the first innings. Questions have arisen about the form and ongoing selection of Rohit, 37, and to a lesser degree, fellow-veteran Virat Kohli, 36.

Rohit struggled throughout the 3-0 home series loss to New Zealand in October-November and has failed to get past 10 runs in any of his five innings in Australia. "A lot of the things I am trying to do are not falling in the place that I would want to," Rohit said. "Mentally, look, it is disturbing without a doubt if you´ve come here and you want to try to do successfully what you are supposed to.