The Indian cricket team’s home dominance was shattered in the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru, as they were humbled by a humiliating 10-wicket defeat. The Rohit Sharma-led side was dismissed for a paltry 46 in the first innings, their lowest Test score at home. New Zealand responded with a commanding 402, putting India on the back foot.
Despite valiant efforts from Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant, India managed to surpass New Zealand’s total. However, a lower-order collapse left them with a meager target of 107 runs. Surprisingly, Ravichandran Ashwin, the most prolific wicket-taker among active cricketers, was introduced late into the attack.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra expressed astonishment at the decision. “We didn’t get Ashwin to bowl at all. I’m not saying we would have won if he had bowled, but we didn’t even give him a chance,” Chopra said. “That was surprising and inexplicable.”
Chopra questioned the logic behind using Ashwin as the fifth bowling option. “You can understand Bumrah’s long spell because he took both wickets. But Siraj was bowling well with the new ball. You could have brought in Jadeja or Ashwin earlier,” he said.
“The match was over. There was no life left in it. You called Ashwin to bowl when only 15 or 20 runs were left. It would have been better not to bowl him at all,” Chopra added. “This question should have been asked in the post-match press conference – ‘Rohit bhai, what did you do?’ India definitely missed a trick, and it’s beyond my understanding why Ashwin wasn’t bowled.”
