Oct 21, 2024 10:34 AM IST
Following the loss, while most players left for Pune, which will host the second Test, starting October 24, Virat Kohli opted to spend time with his family
India were handed a reality check as New Zealand scripted a historic eight-wicket win in Bengaluru on Sunday. Rohit Sharma’s men, who were on a six-match winning streak, which included the clean sweep over Bangladesh last month, had nothing going their way despite having won the toss and opted to bat, following which they were folded for their lowest-ever score at home, just 46 runs.
In the second innings on Day 3 of the opening Test against Tom Latham’s men, India did threaten to come back, which was sparked by a counter-attacking partnership of 136 runs by former captain Virat Kohli and Sarfaraz Khan. Both were dismissed for a duck in the first innings, but they bounced back with their respective fifties on the third evening, before Kohli was dismissed on the final ball of the day for 70. En route, he became the fourth India batter to amass 9000 runs in Test cricket.
Sarfaraz, however, later went on to score 150, and forged a 178-run stand alongside Rishabh Pant to help India overcome the 356-run deficit and post a lead with a 462-run total.
New Zealand, on the back of an unbeaten 75-run stand between Will Young (48*) and Rachin Ravindra (39*), wrapped up the 107-run chase well within the opening session on Day 5 to complete an eight-wicket win.
Following the loss, while most Indian players, including captain Rohit Sharma left for Pune, which will host the second Test against New Zealand, starting October 24, Kohli opted to spend time with his family and he flew off to Mumbai and later attended the Krishna Das Kirtan along with wife Anushka Sharma. Earlier in July, the power couple had attended a similar in London after Kohli had taken a break from international cricket following India’s T20 World Cup title victory in June.
India’s record in Pune
India have so far played just two Test matches at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. In their maiden appearance in 2017, they had lost by 333 runs against Australia, which was one of the two defeats India incurred under Kohli’s eight-year Test captaincy. However, the hosts won by an innings and 137 runs two years later against South Africa.
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