New Zealand’s tour of India began disastrously for the hosts in the first Test as the Indian batting mainstays, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, underperformed. The match took place at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, where Rohit was dismissed on 2 of 16 balls and Kohli on zero of 9 balls. This was the first time that Kohli was dismissed without scoring in a Test match since 2016, and interestingly, his last duck in Test cricket came against New Zealand.
Rain played its spoiler on the first day of the Test, which resulted in no play at all. The weather has not been friendly, with downpours washing out matches and the fans waiting for more action. In the remaining part of the match, it will be the turn of the Indian batting department to come out of this wobbly start.
Worse was to be seen as Sarfaraz Khan, who was included in the team following a good domestic show, also returned with a duck. His inclusion was expected given his form in domestic cricket, but his departure early was a big letdown.
Rohit Sharma and Kohli are among the most important batsmen in the Indian team, and their problems are quite worrying. Kohli came into the match 53 runs shy of the 9,000 Test runs mark, but now he has added pressure to score in the next inning. On the other hand, Sharma’s form seems to be fluctuating; he has not been able to capitalise on good beginnings for most of the year.
Both Sharma and Kohli will be looking to get into the groove. Fans would be waiting to see how India performs after such a poor beginning, as they look forward to making the best out-of-home conditions in the remaining games of this decisive series.
