Captain Rohit Sharma seen during the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru on October 20, 2024
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

India was beaten in the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru on October 20.

Put another way, New Zealand defeated India comprehensively, by 8 wickets on the fifth day.

What went wrong for India?

The first mistake was captain Rohit Sharma’s. He didn’t read the pitch and the conditions well in Bengaluru. He decided to bat first despite overcast weather. Lest one forgets, the first day’s play was washed out due to heavy rains.

Since the weather was damp, the pitch was under covers. Despite that, Rohit Sharma made a grave error of not bowling first. That ensured that it ended up being a nightmare for Indian batsmen. New Zealand fast bowlers used the overcast conditions well and bowled excellently and bundled out India for a mere 46 runs. It was the lowest Indian total at home. Riding on Rachin Ravindra’s brilliant century, New Zealand out batted India out of the first Test. 

Although India fought back valiantly in the second innings, with centuries from Sarfaraz Khan and brilliant batting from Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, it was not enough for India to stop New Zealand from winning the Test.

Another mistake was that India played with three spinners and two fast bowlers. India should have played three fast bowlers. Akash Deep would have been an ideal choice over Kuldeep Yadav. It is a mystery why the team management opted for another spinner despite having better fast bowling options. 

The selection of team was another major mistake by captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir. If a fast bowler was included in the team, then it would have been a different ballgame for the Indian side.

Although Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj did bowl well, it was not enough to stop the Kiwis from being triumphant in the first Test of the series.

Despite losing the first Test, India maintained their top spot in the World Test Championship table, while New Zealand rose to the fourth position in the table.

Captain Rohit Sharma is confident that India will bounce back from the defeat in the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma is confident that his team will bounce back from the eight-wicket defeat against New Zealand in the opening Test by winning the next two games, just like it won four on trot against England earlier this year.

India paid the price for getting all out for 46 in the first innings, their lowest-ever total at home, despite special efforts from Sarfaraz Khan (150) and Rishabh Pant (99) in the second essay.

Rachin Ravindra was regal in both innings as he nullified India’s ace spinners with ease.

“Games like these happen. We will move forward. We lost a game against England and won four games after that. We know exactly what is needed from each one of us,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation ceremony here on Sunday.

He had been upfront in admitting that he read the conditions wrong but having said that, he never thought India would be bowled out for 46.

“I said in my press conference that we knew it will be sticky early on but we didn’t expect to be out for 46. New Zealand bowled well and we failed to respond to that,” Rohit said.

For the skipper, the silver lining was Sarfaraz and Pant’s approach in the second innings where India scored 462 to set a target of 107.

“It was a good effort with the bat in the second innings. We didn’t bat well in the first innings. So we knew what was ahead and couple of guys stood out.

“When you are 350 behind you can’t think too much about it, just got to see the ball and bat. Couple of partnerships were really exciting to watch. We could have easily been bowled out cheaply but proud of the effort.” He was really happy that the young duo batted only in the manner they know.

“Everyone is on the edge of the seat when those two bat. Rishabh left a few balls and then played shots. Sarfaraz showed great maturity as well.”

Practising on red and black soil in Chennai helped

Rachin Ravindra is a Chennai Super ‘King’ and no wonder the city gave him ample opportunity to bat on red and black soil tracks in order to prepare for Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

Ravindra’s superb 134 off 157 in the first innings was largely responsible for New Zealand enjoying a 350-run lead and then he scored 39 not out in a tricky chase to earn the Player of the Match award.

“As long as I am clear and know my plan, it helps. Knowing when to go forward or back helps. Was trying to get a feel of different pitches while preparing in Chennai, red and black soil. Netted everyday, invaluable experience,” Ravindra said.

“I try to be in good positions to be able to score, open up areas. Want to rotate strike too, not necessarily attack.” Ravindra’s grandparents still live in Bengaluru and it was a special effort in front of his family members with his father in the stands.

“It’s a nice city, was a nice wicket to bat on. Having family is emotional, phone starts blowing up, crowd too. Makes it even more special.” New Zealand skipper Tom Latham conceded that it was a good toss to lose taking conditions into account.

“I thought we’d bat, good toss to lose in the end. Guys put the ball in the right areas for a long time in the first innings and got rewards,” Latham, only the third Black Caps skipper after Graham Dowling (1969) and John Wright (1988) to win a Test in India, said.

“I knew India would come back and they did but our bowlers showed up with the second ball. We know what a quality side India are, we thought the new ball would help them too, built a couple of big partnerships, hundred stand got us forward.” The skipper was all praise for William O’Rourke, who took seven wickets in the match.

“O’Rourke has been fantastic, has hit the international stage like he belongs. Hits the pitch hard and gets it to move in the air and off the pitch. Hard to face him in the nets.

“(Tim) Southee and (Matt) Henry too. Southee’s partnership with Rachin was crucial. Rachin – a young guy who’s played a few Tests, but he’s slotted into a new role nicely over the last year. He settled the nerves with his batting today.”

Captain Rohit Sharma is seen during a practice session on the eve of the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru on October 15, 2024.
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

India Test captain Rohit Sharma threw his weight behind the four travelling reserves — Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav and Prasidh Krishna.

The four cricketers could be taken to the five-Test series in Australia next month, Rohit said.

“The reason we wanted to keep them close to us was because we are thinking of taking them to Australia. We want to monitor them and see their workload. A lot of these guys have had injuries in the past, so it is important that we try and build them up. We want to create a group of fast bowlers where we have eight or nine options, not three or four options,” Rohit said at a press conference here on the eve of the first India-New Zealand Test.

Prasidh, however, bowled only eight overs for Karnataka in its Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh at Indore a few days ago.

Not rushing Shami

Rohit explained that it would be wrong to rush an injured Mohammed Shami into action. If he is not fully fit and ready for the rigours of red-ball cricket, Shami will not travel to Australia, Rohit said.

“It is very difficult for us to make a call on him (Shami). He recently had a setback. He had a swelling in his knee, which was quite unusual. Just when he was getting close to 100 per cent fitness, he had this swelling. That has put him back a little bit in his recovery,” Rohit said.

“He is working with the physios and doctors at NCA. We want him to be 100 percent fit. We don’t want to bring an undercooked Shami to Australia. That will not be the right decision. He has not played cricket for a year. It is quite tough for a fast bowler (to return to action), having missed so much cricket.

“We want to give him enough time to recover. He is supposed to play a couple of games before he plays international cricket. We will see where he is at after this New Zealand series, and then take a call at what stage of the Australia tour he will be fit.”