New Zealand's Superior Bowling Overwhelms India in the First Test
New Zealand's fast bowlers dominated the second morning of the first Test against India in Bengaluru, taking over after heavy rain delayed the opening day. William O'Rourke (3-13) and Matt Henry (2-12) directed the game for the visitors after India's Rohit Sharma opted to bat in challenging overhead conditions on a moist field. The New Zealand seamers capitalized on these conditions, demonstrating abundant seam movement and swing.
Tim Southee began by placing India's openers under extreme pressure while playing alongside Matt Henry. The subsequent half an hour revealed a few close calls, missed hits but Rohit and his colleague, Yashasvi Jaiswal, hung on. Unsettled, Rohit attempted to overtake the bowler, leading to his dismissal by Southee's nip-backer.
O'Rourke, who had a successful tour of Sri Lanka, launched the first significant blow with his first over, dismissing Virat Kohli. Following a spectacular catch by the dexterous Glenn Phillips, India was set at 10/3. Rishabh Pant entered the field as the fifth batsman with a strategy to counterattack New Zealand's persistent bowling. Although he had a few succeeding hits, Tom Blundell dropped a crucial catch that could have resulted in Pant's dismissal.
As the morning continued, two more Indians were dismissed, including KL Rahul by a cleverly set trap from O'Rourke and a lazy flick from Ravindra Jadeja that presented a catch to Ajaz Patel at backward point. At the end of the session, India's batting line-up was reduced to 34/6, losing four of their top seven batsmen for ducks for the first time in a home Test.
New Zealand asserted their control on the course of the match, courtesy of the bowler-friendly conditions. The remaining hope for India lies on Pant's performance along with the lower-order batsmen.
