Days after head coach Gautam Gambhir criticized the country’s “batsman-obsessed attitude”, India were folded for just 46, one of the lowest ever scores in Test cricket, by New Zealand in the opening match of the three-match series. After the opening day at the M Chinnaswamy was washed away without a ball being bowled, New Zealand bowlers took advantage of the overcast conditions in Bengaluru on Day 2 to wreak havoc. The hosts were tied for their third lowest score in Test history and lowest at home.

As many as five batters – Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin – were dismissed for a duck on Thursday. The only other time that five Indian batters were dismissed for a duck against New Zealand was during the Mohali Test in 1999. India also escaped equaling their lowest ever mark of most ducks (6) in an innings, which was recorded against England in 1999. 2014 and South Africa in 2024. Yashasvi Jaiswal (13) and Rishabh Pant (20) were the only two batters to reach double figures.

As New Zealand started their first innings in Bengaluru, former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who was sitting in the commentary panel, was shown an image of the Indian scorecard. He admitted that he was shocked to witness five dismissals for a duck and rather took a brutal swipe at the Indian team saying, “When you see that scorecard, you think there will be a duck party going on there. Five ducks!”

When the cameraman then showed the image of Kohli, Sarfaraz and Rahul standing in the slips during New Zealand’s innings, the former Indian all-rounder added: “It’s unheard of in India – lowest score, the team is bowled out for 46 .All three stand in briefs, all looking for ducks.”

Rohit Sharma takes responsibility for misjudgment

India made a surprise move on Thursday after opting to bat first, selecting three spinners and just two fast bowlers under overcast Bengaluru skies, with Chinnaswamy witnessing relentless rain for the past 48 hours or more.

Rohit later admitted his mistake in misjudging the field after India folded for just 46 runs.

‘You see it and you try to make a judgement. Sometimes you take the right decision, sometimes you don’t, and this time I was on the other side,” Rohit said. I’m a little sore because I made that phone call. But look, for us as a team, I think these are the challenges.

“So, what if we put a little bit of pressure on ourselves? We want to play well. We want to challenge ourselves. This time it didn’t work out, the challenges that came our way. We didn’t respond. Well, and we found ourselves in a situation where we were bowled out for 46 runs. As a captain it certainly hurts to see that number, but in 365 days you will make two or three bad decisions.