NEW DELHI: From collapsing to their lowest team total — 46 all out — at home to a remarkable fightback in the second innings, the Indian team gave a tough fight before going down against New Zealand on the final day of the rain-marred Bengaluru Test on Sunday.
India had a shocking collapse after opting to bat on the second day of the match and after the day’s play skipper Rohit Sharma had cheekily asked the reporters to ‘chalao talwar‘ (get your swords out), indicating that he is ready to face the tough questions on the team’s poor batting performance.
However, in their second essay, despite conceding a 356-run lead, the India’s top-order batters outperformed and made a strong recovery, wiping out the entire deficit.
But after that, the team endured yet another collapse as they set a below-par 107 run target, which the visitors overhauled on the final day.
In the post match show, commentator and presenter Harsha Bhogle hailed India’s strong comeback in the second innings while telling skipper Rohit, in a light-hearted note, that there won’t be criticism of team’s performance.
“Yaha koi talwar nahi chalegi,” said Bhogle soon after Rohit came in for a post-match chat.
Earlier, Rohit had admitted that he didn’t read the pitch well at the start of the game and it was his decision to bat first in overcast conditions that led to India’s horrific 46 all out in the first innings.
“I did not read the pitch well enough and we sit in that situation today. We expected the pitch to be a little flatter than what it turned out to be. So clearly a misjudgment of the pitch. I am hurting a little bit because I made that call,” Rohit had said.
With the defeat in Bengaluru Test, India also conceded crucial percentage points in the World Test Championship standings.
However, with eight wins and three defeats in 12 matches, Rohit and Co. still remain top of the table.
The second India vs New Zealand Test starts on October 24 in Pune.