"It was a misjudgment on my part, and I couldn’t read the pitch well" - Rohit Sharma on choosing to bat first in 1st IND vs NZ 2024 Test
Team India skipper Rohit Sharma admitted to misreading the pitch at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru after his decision to bat first backfired miserably on Day 2 of the first Test against New Zealand. The Men in Blue were subjected to a hostile spell of fast bowling under overcast conditions, leading to an abysmal batting display that just yielded 46 runs.
After being bundled out for their lowest Test score on home soil, the conditions considerably eased in the latter half of the day, particularly after the sun came out. New Zealand raced off to 180-3 in 50 overs before stumps were called.
With considerable moisture on the pitch after being under the covers for a considerable time, coupled with the overcast conditions, the majority expected Rohit Sharma to put the visitors into bat first after winning the toss. He mentioned during the toss that he expects the wicket to behave during the initial phase, and asserted the importance of putting runs on the board.
However, things did not turn out as expected, with considerable seam movement and swing being the common theme throughout the entire first session, where India were reduced to 34-6.
"We thought it wouldn’t help the seamers much after the first session or so. There wasn’t much grass either. We expected it to be much flatter than it turned out to be. It was a misjudgment on my part, and I couldn’t read the pitch well," Rohit Sharma said during the press conference after Day 1.
“On a pitch where there was assistance for the seamers, and now that we were bowled out for 46, you could say the shot selection wasn’t up to the mark. Sometimes you plan to do something but fail to execute. So, it was a bad day for us,” he added.
As many as five Indian batters departed without scoring with Virat Kohli being one of them. Only two batters - Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant managed to record double figures in the innings.
"We don’t want to touch KL’s batting position much" - Rohit Sharma on KL Rahul not coming out to bat at No.3
Another surprising decision from the thinktank was to hold back KL Rahul despite his presence early on being the need of the hour. In the absence of Shubman Gill, India needed a makeshift No.3 batter, and Rahul who has batted in the position and prominently in the top order in the past was backed to do the job.
But, following Rohit Sharma's dismissal, it was Virat Kohli who walked out. Subsequently, it was Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant who followed after the wickets kept on tumbling, before KL Rahul ultimately came out to bat at No.6. The wicketkeeper-batter ended up being dismissed for a duck on his home ground by William O'Rourke.
“We don’t want to touch KL’s batting position much. He has found a place at 6, so let’s give him a rope there. Same with Sarfaraz, we wanted to give him a similar position to where he bats because he is new to international cricket as well. So Virat was the one who wanted to take responsibility. We had a discussion, and he was fine with it. That’s a good sign that players are taking responsibility,” Rohit added
India have a mammoth task ahead of them if they wish to make a comeback in the Tets match after a disastrous day on the field.