India collapsed to 46 all out, their lowest Test match total on home soil, against New Zealand at Bengaluru, during a phase of play where nothing went India’s way.
“Misjudgement” in hindsight
The India bowling attack boasts of enough depth for them to choose between three seamers and three spinners at home. Against England, they based their attacks around spin, with the seamers bowling in short bursts. However, against Bangladesh, they switched to three seamers along with R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
After a day’s cricket was lost at Bengaluru, India left out fast bowler Akash Deep for left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav. Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat (though he understood that “we do understand it [the pitch] will be sticky to start with”), but Tom Latham admitted that he would have done the same as well. Neither seemed too fussed about the pitch.
India, of course, had to bat first once they picked three spinners. Both decisions – or decision, as one was almost certainly determined by the other – backfired spectacularly. On another day, India might have survived the initial storm.
“A misjudgement,” admitted Rohit later. “I couldn’t read the pitch well”.
The conditions
The pitch turned out to be completely different from the captains’ readings – and that is an understatement. The movement was unusually extravagant, while the bounce was unusually steep. Combine both factors, and it is not difficult to understand why survival was difficult.
