IND vs NZ 2024, 1st Test: India Player Ratings as Rohit Sharma & Co. fall to concerning home defeat
Team India fell to a concerning eight-wicket defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the first Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, October 20. Rohit Sharma and company now need to win both remaining matches to seal another home series triumph.
After Rohit won the toss and elected to bat in bowler-friendly conditions, the Kiwis skittled the home side for just 46. India were always playing catch-up after that, and while they fought hard in the second innings, they couldn't get a tall ask done on Day 5.
On that note, here are India's player ratings from the first Test against New Zealand.
IND vs NZ 2024, 1st Test: Sarfaraz hits ton in solid second innings
Rohit Sharma: 5.5/10
Rohit tried to be aggressive in both innings. He was castled cheaply in the first, and while he played some nice strokes in the second, he was dismissed soon after his half-century. The skipper's decision to bowl cost India heavily.
Yashasvi Jaiswal: 6/10
Jaiswal played the most balls among all of India's batters in the first innings. However, he was guilty of throwing it away in both his hits. While the opener found gully off a cut in the first essay, he danced down the track to be stumped in the second.
Sarfaraz Khan: 9/10
Brought into the side, Sarfaraz failed in the first innings like all the other Indian batters. He contributed a plucky daddy hundred in the second essay that, at one point, gave the hosts a chance to take a big lead. The middle-order batter is turning his first-class returns into rewards at the international level.
Virat Kohli: 6.5/10
Batting at No. 3, Kohli too notched up a half-century in the second innings after failing in the first. Somehow, though, his recent form hasn't been too convincing.
Rishabh Pant: 8.5/10
Pant top-scored for India in the first innings and fell narrowly short of a seventh Test hundred in the second. He makes red-ball batting look incredibly easy.
KL Rahul: 1/10
Rahul was one of India's worst performers in Bengaluru as he fell cheaply in both of his knocks. He inspires virtually no confidence while batting in the middle order, and his slip-catching was surprisingly sub-par too.
Ravindra Jadeja: 6/10
Jadeja was one of India's best bowlers in the first innings, with his length consistency and pace through the air asking questions of the Kiwi batters. With the bat, however, the southpaw was rather poor.
Ravichandran Ashwin: 3/10
Ashwin had an off-game as well. He couldn't hit the right lengths, and there was virtually no bite to his bowling. The veteran all-rounder looked uncomfortable while batting too.
Kuldeep Yadav: 6.5/10
Kuldeep proved expensive at times, but he challenged the New Zealand batters and picked up three wickets in the first essay. The left-arm wrist-spinner arguably wasn't as consistent with his lines as he'd have liked.
Jasprit Bumrah: 7/10
Bumrah bowled well throughout the Test, as he often does. The ace spearhead didn't get much reward, though. He needed to go around the wicket more often to the Kiwi left-handers.
Mohammed Siraj: 4/10
Siraj was threatening at times and didn't give the opposition batters as many scoring opportunities as he usually does. But still, he didn't do enough to warrant being picked as Bumrah's partner. The pacer's home record looks unimpressive, and he doesn't seem too penetrative at any stage of the innings.