Rohit 'hurts' after India bow out with a home Test low of 46

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Captain Rohit Sharma said on Thursday that he was “hurt” after opting to bat first on a weakening pitch as hosts India fell to a dismal all-out of 46 against New Zealand.

New Zealand fast bowlers Matt Henry and William O'Rourke caused havoc under cloudy skies, dismissing India for 31.2 overs on the second afternoon of the first Test in Bengaluru.

It was India's third lowest Test score of all time and lowest at home, worse than the 75 against the West Indies in New Delhi in 1987.

Their lowest total is 36 against Australia in a pink-ball Adelaide Test in 2020. They lost against England at Lord's in 1974 with 42.

“We felt there is not much grass on the pitch and it will do whatever it needs to do in the first few sessions and then it will take a turn as the game progresses,” Rohit told reporters.

“We expected the wicket to be flatter than it actually was. So clearly a misjudgment of the playing field.”

“Obviously I didn’t read the pitch enough and this is the situation we find ourselves in today.”

Five Indian batsmen, including Virat Kohli, made a duck as Henry and O'Rourke shared nine wickets, a rare display of dominance by opposition bowlers in India.

“It hurts me a little bit because I made that call,” Rohit said. “But we want to challenge ourselves.

“This time it didn’t work out, the challenge that was given to us.”

Former captain Tim Southee drew first blood when he bowled Rohit through the gate.

The speedy O'Rourke silenced the crowd when he sent Kohli back for nothing.

Henry ended the innings with a five-wicket haul and his final knock against Kuldeep Yadav was his 100th Test wicket.

“It was a nice defeat,” Henry said.

“It was quite nice when the clouds came up.

“I think we expected it to be a flatter wicket but there was plenty of support this morning.”

“It was great that we were able to make the most of it.”

New Zealand have the upper hand with a lead of 134 and ended the day on 180-3 after Devon Conway's 91.

Henry warned his team not to be careful.

“We cannot be complacent at all,” he said.

“We just have to keep pushing.”

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