[Watch] Team India arrives in Pune ahead of the second Test against New Zealand
Team India reached Pune on Monday, October 21, ahead of the second game of the three-match Test series against New Zealand at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium. The match is scheduled to start on Thursday, October 24.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared highlights of the players' journey from Bengaluru to Pune, featuring their warm reception at the team hotel.
Here’s a video shared by the BCCI:
The hosts had a rough start to the series, suffering a severe setback after choosing to bat first. They were dismissed for a mere 46, marking their third-lowest total in Test history. In reply, New Zealand scored 402 in their first innings, bolstered by a century from Rachin Ravindra (134), giving them a commanding lead of 356 runs.
In the second innings, senior players Rohit Sharma (52) and Virat Kohli (70) sparked a fightback. Sarfaraz Khan achieved his maiden century with a score of 150, while Rishabh Pant narrowly missed his seventh ton, finishing with 99.
Despite being well positioned at 408-3, the hosts faltered and were all out for 462. Chasing a target of 107, Will Young (48*) and Rachin (39*) played crucial roles, leading the Black Caps to an eight-wicket victory.
“I am not going to look too much into this Test match” - Rohit Sharma reflects on India's loss in the first game
At the post-match conference, Indian captain Rohit Sharma noted that one bad session shouldn’t define his team. He said that they understand what needs to be done as they prepare for the second Test. Rohit said:
"Even here, there are a lot of good things that happened along with 3-4 hours of bad cricket. So, keeping a lot of cricket in mind that is coming up, I am not going to look too much into this Test match. That 3 hours is not going to dictate what this team is. It would be very unfair to think about those three hours and start judging players and talking slightly differently.”
"Looking forward to the second Test in Pune, we know exactly what we need to do and where we lie as a team. It’s about keeping a calm atmosphere and not sending panic messages. It’s important we stay strong and try and see how we can nail the second game. All in all, I thought except that first couple of hours, three hours, I thought we played very good Test cricket,” he added.
India remain in the top position in the World Test Championship standings.