Rohit Sharma, India’s captain, on Thursday acknowledged the misjudgment of the M Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch after the hosts were bundled out for their lowest Test score at home. Rohit surprised everyone by opting to bat first during an overcast morning in Bengaluru while also selecting three spinners and only two pacers.
“Look, we felt there was not much grass on the pitch,” Rohit said. “We thought it will do whatever it has to do in the first couple of sessions and then it is going to take turn as the game goes on. That is how whenever we played in India, the first session is always critical and then the wicket tends to settle down and then the spinners come into play.
“As I said, there was not much grass, so the reason to add (left-arm wrist spinner) Kuldeep (Yadav) was because he has bowled on flat pitches and he has taken wickets. So we expected the pitch to be a little flatter than what it turned out to be. So clearly a misjudgment of (reading) the pitch. Obviously, I did not read the pitch well enough and we sit in that situation today,” he offered.
Just a week after their triumphant victory in Kanpur, India witnessed a disastrous day against New Zealand, being bowled out for a mere 46 runs on the second day of the first Test in a three-match series at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The Indian side managed to bat for only 31.2 overs during an overcast morning, marking this as their third-lowest score ever in Test history and the lowest at home. Was there a lack of application and patience from the Indian batters?
“You can say that because we got all-out in 46, but on such wickets where the seamers have a little help, you have to make your game plan a little earlier. We have played on such wickets many times and have been successful to a great extent. Every batsman has a different plan. Every batsman who went in had a plan on how to play because everyone knew what the pitch was and what was happening. But sometimes it happens that you are trying to do something and that plan does not work. So today was a bad day for us. But we have played many such matches before. It was a challenge, but we should challenge ourselves as much as we can.”
New Zealand’s fast bowlers, led by William O’Rourke and Matt Henry, dominated after Tim Southee initiated India’s collapse by dismissing Rohit Sharma early in the day. Choosing to bat first under overcast conditions on a pitch that had been covered due to recent rain proved costly for India.
Five Indian players, including Virat Kohli, who was unexpectedly moved to the number three spot, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, and R Ashwin, registered ducks at the iconic venue.
After a morale-boosting series win against Bangladesh, India was expected to continue their dominance but were instead handed a harsh reality check by New Zealand’s seamers, who exploited the moist pitch conditions.
India’s strategy was questionable; they chose to bat after winning the toss, missing a chance to let their own pacers loose on a vulnerable New Zealand team, which had recently lost 2-0 in Sri Lanka. Additionally, sending Kohli in at number three in challenging batting conditions was another misstep, not capitalizing on KL Rahul’s experience with local conditions and his history of opening.
“Yes, he is a local boy. So he has to bat at 3? (laughs). After a long time, KL Rahul has found a spot at No. 6. We want to make him bat there. The experienced players are the ones who have to take up more responsibility. This time, it was Virat. He was the one who was ready to do that,” Rohit said. “We asked him whether he could bat at No. 3. Sarfaraz, we also wanted to give him the position that he usually bats — 4, 5 and 6. We didn’t want to change Rishabh and KL. Hence, Sarfaraz went at No. 4 and Virat batted at No. 3. It’s a good sign. Players coming up and taking responsibility and owning up the challenge. It’s a good sign,” the Indian captain added.
The decision to promote Kohli failed spectacularly as he struggled and was out for a duck. Similarly, Sarfaraz Khan at number four gave his wicket away cheaply, and Rahul, despite his familiarity with the conditions, chased a wide ball and was also dismissed without scoring.
On top of that, Rishabh Pant suffered a blow to his right knee, the same knee on which he had surgery after a horrific car accident.
“Unfortunately, the ball hit him straight on his knee cap, the same leg which he has undergone a surgery on. So he has got a little bit of swelling on it and the muscles are quite tender at this point in time. So it is a precautionary measure. We do not want to take a risk. Rishabh does not want to take a risk because he has gone through a massive surgery on that particular leg. So that was the reason for him to go inside. Hopefully, tonight he can recover and we will see him back on the field tomorrow.”
By the time the Black Caps came out to bat, the sun was shining. Openers Tom Latham (15) and Devon Conway started well, with the latter going on to score 91 runs. Will Young played a handy knock of 33 before being dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja. Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell saw out the day for the visitors, ending on 180/3, leading by 134 runs. For India, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, and Jadeja picked up a wicket each.