Rohit Sharma wasn’t downcast in defeat, Tom Latham didn’t go overboard in victory. Par for the course, one would have to say, given that both leaders are nothing if not equanimous.
Latham had greater reason to gloat than Rohit to rue, after becoming only the third New Zealand captain behind Graham Dowling and John Wright to win a Test in India. That it came after a 36-year wait made it even more memorable and while the left-handed opener admitted that the ‘pretty special’ win needed to be celebrated, he also stressed the significance of staying focused on the task ahead, which entails further Tests in Pune and Mumbai.
Rohit insisted that the three hours on the second day, when India folded up for 46 after opting to bat, should not and did not define this Indian side. He couldn’t have been more correct. India have repeatedly shown spunk and character, resolve and resilience, in fighting back from being 0-1 down, most recently against England at the start of the year. They have brought on board an aggressive, unyielding style of play from which they won’t veer simply because of one bad morning’s batting.
It’s that one bad morning that will haunt Rohit and his batting colleagues. Latham said at the toss, and repeated on Sunday, that he too would have batted had he called correctly. He smiled wickedly while reflecting on losing the toss, possibly because he was saved the embarrassment that Rohit publicly owned on Thursday evening. Maybe New Zealand would have batted better, maybe they would have posted a more respectable, competitive score. We will never know. Maybe India would have exerted greater pressure if they hadn’t conceded a deficit of 356, maybe they would have been more in the contest if the Kiwi target was greater than 107. Again, we will never know.
The eight-wicket loss at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium is, in all probability, a blip rather than a matter for serious concern from an Indian perspective. It’s not that they were caught by surprise by what New Zealand threw at them. Beyond the towering William O’Rourke, they have played against everyone else previously in Test matches and weren’t caught napping when it came to homework. Where they came up short was in their indecisiveness when the ball was doing plenty on Thursday morning, in the choice of some of the shots attempted, in their inability to keep New Zealand down to under 275 after having them on the mat at 233 for seven.
Rohit took pride in the fight his side showed despite the decisive first-innings lead New Zealand enjoyed. To score at five an over from 356 behind to reach 400 for three was a magnificent show of skill of the highest quality. At that time, India had transformed from the hunted to the hunter, until the second new ball precipitated a spectacular collapse of seven for 54. When Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant were going great guns, New Zealand seemed bereft of ideas. Tim Southee provided a lifeline with the feisty Sarfaraz’s wicket, after which it was all New Zealand, courtesy O’Rourke and Matt Henry.
Sarfaraz’s maiden Test ton is definitely reason to celebrate, the young man showing that he isn’t just a slayer of domestic attacks. His counter-attacking 150 has opened up another selection debate. What happens when Shubman Gill, who missed this Test with a stiff neck, returns in Pune next week? Gill is fully recovered, it would appear, given that he batted freely and for long on the match pitch long after the last ball had been bowled and his wounded colleagues had retired to their team hotel.
Rachin Ravindra impressive
Of all of New Zealand’s performers, the most glittering was Rachin Ravindra. Having worked his way up to No. 4 in the batting order, the left-hander batted with great flair, authority, maturity and commonsense. His gameplan against India’s crack spinning trio was simple yet breathtakingly effective, and he was as much at home against Jasprit Bumrah as anyone can be on a track of this nature. Several overseas batters in the past have relished playing in India; it shouldn’t be a surprise if this Ravindra hundred in the first innings is only the start of a stirring journey of plenty. It can’t also be forgotten that several batters from abroad also get on a roll and feast on the Indian bowling, so the bowling group under assistant coach Morne Morkel must work out a way over the next few days on how to nip his burgeoning threat in the bud.
The series is set up beautifully with New Zealand 1-0 ahead. How will India respond?
