India bowled out for 46 runs in the first Test against New Zealand

Who would have expected this to happen? After day 1 of the first Test match between India and Zealand was washed out due to rain, Indian captain Rohit Sharma opted to bat first upon winning the toss in overcast conditions. Little did he know it would prove so costly that the India would bundle out for just 46 runs on the board at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. It’s now India’s third-lowest total in Test cricket history after ‘36 against Australia’ and ‘42 against England’.

The pitch was helpful for New Zealand and they made full use of the conditions. The opening pair of Tim Southee and Matt Henry hit the right areas and the wicket did the rest. Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal struggled to get going as New Zealand rarely bowled loose deliveries. 

In a bid to counter-attack, skipper Rohit Sharma danced down the track to Southee only to have his stumps castled. The Indian team lost their skipper for just 9 . With Shubman Gill unavailable, Virat Kohli came at number three but didn’t stay for too long, either. 

William ORourke, the New Zealand pacer extracted a good amount of bounce and speed to send Kohli back. A nip-backer at a great height led to Virat Kohli (0) giving a low catch to Glenn Phillips at leg gully. Sarfaraz Khan (0)  felt the nerves the moment he arrived at the crease. 

He also thought to counter-attack and it led to his dismissal. A mistimed shot saw Devon Conway take a screamer and India found themselves in all sorts of trouble at 10 for 3. Rishabh Pant was sent in ahead of KL Rahul, possibly to shift the momentum. 

Rishabh Pant top-scored for India with 20 runs off 49 deliveries 

He was dropped on seven but it didn’t affect the scoreboard too much as wickets kept falling at the other end.  Yashasvi Jaiswal looked like one batter who could take India out of trouble. 

However, a fierce cut went straight into the hands of Ajaz Patel, who took a good low catch. Jaiswal departed for 13 off 63, including one four. KL Rahul (0) wasn’t in a mood to stay long at the crease, either. He was strangled down the leg side and you could say that he was unlucky.  

India’s saviours in the lower middle-order, Ravindra Jadeja (0) and Ravichandran Ashwin (0) failed to open their account, with the scoreboard reading 34 for 7. 

Pant scored one more boundary post that, but eventually went back for 20 for 49. He was India’s last hope to get past 100 but India failed to touch even the 50-run mark. New Zealand wrapped up the tail quickly as India were bundled out for just 46 runs. As for New Zealand's bowling, Matt Henry claimed a five-for, while William O’Rourke finished with four wickets under his belt.