Indian cricket team during Bengaluru Test match against New Zealand.© BCCI
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has criticized skipper Rohit Sharma's tactical decisions following India's first Test defeat to New Zealand in Bengaluru. Rohit faced significant backlash for his captaincy, particularly after New Zealand managed to add 137 crucial runs for the eighth wicket in their first innings. The criticism continued on Day 5 of the match. With New Zealand needing 107 runs to win, Rohit opted to bring on Ravichandran Ashwin, India's most successful bowler at home, only after 10 runs had been scored. Instead, he utilized Mohammed Siraj, who remained wicketless across two spells totalling seven overs, yielding no results.
"The thing with pacers, you might get wickets, but there are always runs coming through edges. I was a bit surprised, I think tactically for Rohit Sharma, this Test match wasn't his greatest. I can understand Siraj getting one or two overs and Bumrah getting a long spell. But Siraj getting 6 overs in that forespell, I think that is far too many and already a lot of runs on the board, and you had that little margin to chase," Manjrekar said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
"And another part is Aswhin. When there is no lavish turn on the pitch, the captain tends to use him with a new ball. He would have been tough for the Kiwi batters had he started off with Bumrah, and even if he had come in the fourth over of the inning," he added.
He highlighted India's significant tactical errors on the final day. This victory marked New Zealand's first Test win in India since 1988 and only their third overall.
Despite the unexpected eight-wicket loss, Rohit Sharma praised his team's resilience, particularly their fightback in the second innings. Trailing by a substantial 356 runs after the first innings, India showed remarkable determination, scoring 462 to set a target of 107 for New Zealand.
"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," Rohit said at the post-match presentation.
To maintain their impressive home Test series winning streak of 18, India must avoid defeat in the upcoming two Tests. The second Test between India and New Zealand is set to begin in Pune on October 24.
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