Rohit Sharma in action© AFP
Numerous things went wrong for India during their loss against New Zealand in the first Test in Bengaluru. In a rain-hit encounter, the first day got washed out without the toss. On Day 2, India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat. However, his decision quickly backfired as New Zealand made a good use of the overcast conditions and bundled out India for just 46 and then went to hammer 402 runs with the bat. In the second innings, India put up a great fight and gave a target of 107, which was chased down by the visitors with eight wickets in hand.
This loss broke India's six-match winning streak in Tests. It was also New Zealand's first win in Test on Indian soil, since 1988.
After the loss, Rohit was subjected to severe criticism for his fans on social media as he was called a "clueless captain" by the netizens.
— ᴜɴᴅɪꜱᴘᴜᴛᴇᴅ 𓃶 (@Kohli_divote) October 20, 2024CLUELESS CAPTAIN ROHIT mistakes so far :-
• Chose batting first in oc conditions
• scored 2 runs in first inning
• Dropped 5 catches
• lowest team score at home
• shameless defeat after 28 years
• conceded 400+ from 233/7
• CHOSE CRICKET AS HIS PROFESSION pic.twitter.com/3uQx0VhKvW
— Nityananda Das🇮🇳 (@Jamesnisam5363) October 20, 2024
— Ayaan (@_Ayaan_rahman) October 20, 2024
Rohit Sharma might be a great captain, but he often loses his cool and makes weird decisions when things aren't going his way. I've seen it happen way too many times.
— Shivani Shukla (@iShivani_Shukla) October 20, 2024
— Rajiv (@Rajiv1841) October 20, 2024Captain Rohit Sharma is the biggest culprit of this game !!
- He selected 3 spinners on a pitch which was assisting the pacers + There was overcast conditions throughout the test.
- He chose to bat 1st when there were overcast conditions with moisture in the pitch. I don't… pic.twitter.com/GKdIFZdtBj
"It was a good effort with the bat in the second innings. We didn't bat well in the first innings. So knew what was ahead and couple of guys stood out. When you are 350 behind you can't think too much about it. just got to see the ball and bat. Couple of partnerships were really exciting to watch and got us back in the game. We could have easily been bowled out cheaply but proud of the effort. Everyone is on the edge of the seat when those two (Sarfaraz and Pant) are playing," said Rohit during the post-match presentation.
"New Zealand bowled pretty well and challenged every corner of our bat and we failed to respond to that. Games like these happen. We will take the positives and move forward. There are guys who have been in this situation before. We lost a game against England and won four games after that. Two Test matches to go and we know exactly what is needed from each one of us. We will try and put our best game forward," he added.
The second Test of the three-match series between India and New Zealand will begin from Thursday in Pune.