Rohit Sharma admits batting first was a mistake at Chinnaswamy, says 'failed to read pitch'

India skipper Rohit Sharma admitted the shot selection of his teammates “wasn’t up to the mark” after the hosts were shockingly bowled out for 46 after opting to bat in overcast conditions on Day 2 of the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru on Thursday.

As many as five Indian batters, including Virat Kohli and Bengaluru native KL Rahul, were dismissed for ducks while New Zealand pacers Matt Henry (5/15) and William O’Rourke (4/22) ran riot at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium as India were bundled out for their lowest Test total at home and their third lowest overall in the format.

Read | India’s technical inadequacies laid threadbare at Chinnaswamy as hosts find themselves in a huge hole of their making

While there was a copious amount of movement on offer at Chinnaswamy, where the conditions on Thursday were similar to what the Black Caps are used to back home, some of the Indian batters were also at fault for their shot selection and their failure to see through a tricky first hour.

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“On a pitch where there were assistance for seamers, and now that we got out for 46, you can say the shot selection wasn’t upto the mark. It was a bad day. Sometimes you want to do something but could not execute,” Rohit told reporters in the press conference after stumps.

Rohit also admitted his decision to bat wasn’t perhaps the right one given the conditions in Bengaluru on Thursday.

“It was my misjudgement to bat first. I was expecting a flat pitch, but I couldn’t read the pitch well,” said the captain, admitting to his mistake.

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Rishabh Pant (20) and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (13) were the only batters to enter double digits on Thursday, the two adding 21 for the fourth wicket and raising hopes of a rescue act that would steer the hosts towards a competitive total.

Jaiswal’s dismissal off O’Rourke’s bowling, however, proved to be a turning point and it was a procession thereafter as the hosts lost their last seven wickets for just 15 runs, bringing back memories of them getting bowled out for 36 by Australia in Adelaide in December 2020.