Bouncing back from a ’46 all out’ was never going to be an easy task for India. But they did instill a sense of belief, whether through the recovery effort of Sarfaraz Khan-Rishabh Pant, who put on a total of 462 runs in the second innings, or because Jasprit Bumrah played his heart out on Sunday to take two early wickets. But New Zealand remained patient and eventually cruised past the target during the opening session on Day 5 in Bengaluru to record a historic victory.

The loss ended India’s winning streak at home. Since the defeat in Hyderabad against England earlier this year, India has won six in a row. It also left India in a precarious situation regarding their qualification plans for the World Test Championship final.

Following the eight-wicket defeat at home, their first against New Zealand in 36 years and third overall in 33 encounters, dating back to 1955, head coach Gautam Gambhir was spotted having an animated and lengthy conversation in the Indian dressing room with captain Rohit . Sharma. Assistant coach Abhishek Nayar was also present during the chat, with the two coaches doing most of the talking.

Rohit Sharma is confident of a comeback in India

Despite the setback in Bengaluru, where India faced Test conditions under overcast skies that largely favored New Zealand’s fast bowlers, Rohit sounded confident of a comeback in the second Test in Pune next week. During the post-match presentation, Rohit sharply recalled how India went through a similar situation in the series against England earlier this year and won the next four matches.

“New Zealand bowled quite well and challenged every angle of our bat and we didn’t respond to that. Matches like that happen. We will take the positives and move on. There are guys who have been in this situation before. We have lost a game against England and then won four more games. There are two more Test matches to go and we know exactly what is required from each of us. We will try to put out our best game,” he said.