New Delhi: Indian captain Rohit Sharma responded to the heavy lead gained by New Zealand on the afternoon of the third day of the ongoing first Test match played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The Indian opener played a brisk knock while leading from the front before a poor judgement led to his dismissal.
Rohit showed great intent with the bat in the second innings, scoring runs in a rapid flow, belting eight boundaries and a six en route to his 30th Test half-century. He hit a flamboyant pull towards long leg for a boundary off New Zealand pacer Matt Henry’s bowling to complete his fifty in 59 balls.
However, the Indian skipper didn’t last longer at the crease after the achievement. While prodding forward to defend straight the ball off Kiwi spinner Ajaz Patel’s bowling, Rohit got the under edge before the ball bumped onto the stumps. It was a moment of disbelief for both Rohit and Virat Kohli (who was batting at the non-striker’s end) and the raucous crowd at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium turned mute.
Watch Rohit Sharma’s dismissal here:
Very Unlucky 💔
Well played, this is what he can do if he takes his time and play calmly
Same #RohitSharma𓃵, same!! 🥹💔#INDvsNZ #ViratKohli𓃵 pic.twitter.com/dVkAXB6M7o
— Mahendra choudhary (@MG_Choudhary_07) October 18, 2024
New Zealand post 402 after brilliance from Rachin, Southee
Earlier in the day, Rachin Ravindra continued from his overnight score of 22. Despite a mini collapse of the middle order, the southpaw found a helping hand in former captain Tim Southee. The duo showed great composure with tremendous footwork to avert the spin threat of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Ravindra went on to slam his his second Test hundred with 13 boundaries and four sixes coming under his belt. Southee scored a sublime fifty (65 runs off 73 balls) as the duo put on 147 runs for the eighth wicket to help New Zealand clinch a substantial lead of 356 in the first innings.
