Pick the appropriate option (in Direct Speech) from the following for :-

She said to me that her rose flowers had wilted due to lack of water.

She said, "My rose flowers wilted due to lack of water".

The correct answer is Option (1) → She said, "My rose flowers wilted due to lack of water".

Here's why:

• The original sentence states that the flowers "had wilted," indicating a past action.
• Therefore, the verb tense in the direct speech should also be past tense to accurately convey the speaker's words.
• "Wilted" accurately reflects the past tense of the action, making it the most suitable option compared to "are wilted" (present tense), "were wilted" (past continuous tense), and "will wilt" (future tense).