Bengaluru: Skipper Rohit Sharma on Thursday said he was “hurting” after opting to bat first on a seaming pitch as hosts India fell to a dismal 46 all out against New Zealand.
Kiwi fast bowlers Matt Henry and William O’Rourke wreaked havoc in overcast conditions to dismiss India in 31.2 overs on the first Test’s second afternoon in Bengaluru.
It was India’s third-lowest Test score ever and lowest at home, worse than their 75 against the West Indies in New Delhi in 1987.
Their lowest overall is 36 against Australia in a pink-ball Adelaide Test in 2020. They fell for 42 against England at Lord’s in 1974.
“We felt there was not much grass on the pitch and it will do whatever it has to do in the first couple of sessions and then it is going to take a turn as the game goes on,” Rohit told reporters.
“We expected the wicket to be flatter than what it turned out to be. So clearly misjudgement of the pitch.
“Obviously I didn’t read the pitch enough and we sit in that situation today.”
Five Indian batsmen including Virat Kohli got out for a duck as Henry and O’Rourke shared nine wickets between them in a rare show of domination by opposition bowlers in India.
“I am hurting a little bit because I made that call,” said Rohit. “But we want to challenge ourselves.
“This time it didn’t come off, the challenge that was thrown at us.”
Former captain Tim Southee drew first blood as he bowled Rohit through the gate.
Fellow quick O’Rourke silenced the crowd when he sent back Kohli for nought.
Henry wrapped up the innings with a five-wicket haul and his last strike of Kuldeep Yadav was his 100th Test wicket.
“It was a good toss to lose,” said Henry.
“It was quite nice when those clouds started coming in.
“I think we were expecting it to be a flatter wicket but there was plenty of assistance this morning.
“It was great that we could make the most of it.”
New Zealand have the upper hand with a lead of 134 as they ended the day on 180-3 after Devon Conway’s 91.
Henry warned his team against letting their guard down.
“We can’t be complacent at all,” he said.
“We’ve just got to keep mounting pressure.”
