India skipper Rohit Sharma accepted full responsibility for his decision to bat first as his team suffered a shocking collapse, bowled out for a mere 46 runs on the second day of the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru. Rohit admitted he misjudged the pitch conditions and it led India to their lowest score on home soil.
Assessment Of Choice Of Batting First
He described it as a moment of regret for the toss decision, mentioning, “You see and you try to make the judgment. Sometimes you make the right call, sometimes you don’t and I was on the other side of it this time around.” He went further by asserting more team challenges, saying, “These are the challenges. So what if we put ourselves under pressure a little bit?”
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India opted for three spinners Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav, and the fast bowling option was missing in the form of Akash Deep. “We felt there was not much grass on the pitch. we would have thought that the pitch might be a little flatter than it actually was. So obviously a misjudgment about the pitch,” Rohit added.
Virat Kohli’s Batting Position
Discussion was also a topic while Virat Kohli batted at No. 3 for the first time since 2016, courtesy Shubman Gill’s absence. Rohit said that Kohli, too, prepared himself to accept the task when he said, “The experienced players are the ones who have to take that extra responsibility.”
Kohli disappointed himself as he got dismissed for a duck. Rohit said that the reason behind keeping Kohli at number four is because the top order needs to be consistent for all others.
Looking Ahead
Despite the all-weather day, Rohit was chirpy. That is, till he deadpanned and started the press conference with a, “chalao talwaar” (draw your swords). “Yeah, we just need to regroup now. And hopefully, keep it around there in terms of their score, and then try and see if we can make a game out of that,” he said.
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