Team India endured its worst performance at home, getting bowled out for a score of 46 in the first innings of the first Test against New Zealand on Thursday. As many as five Indian batters were dismissed for ducks in the innings, including star players like Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Sarfaraz Khan. The nature of India’s horrific show in the innings was such that even former head coach Ravi Shastri didn’t shy away from taking a swipe at the batting unit.
While commentating on the match, Shastri mocked Kohli and other batters on a couple of occasions. Once, when the team’s scorecard came up on the broadcaster’s screen, Shastri took a dig at Kohli and others who were dismissed for ducks. The former India all-rounder called them a ‘duck party’.
He said: “When you see that scorecard, you think there will be a duck party happening there. Five ducks!”
Later, when the cameraman showed the visual of Kohli, Sarfaraz, and Rahul standing in the slips during New Zealand’s batting, Shastri brought up the ducks topic again.
“It’s unheard of in India – lowest score, the team has been bowled out for 46. All three standing in slips, all out for ducks,” he said.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, India captain Rohit Sharma admitted his fault at judging the pitch.
“I am hurting a little bit because I made that call. We found ourselves in a situation where we got bowled out for 46 runs. As a captain, it definitely hurts to see that number,” said Rohit during the post-day press meet.
“So, clearly a misjudgment of the pitch. I did not read the pitch well enough and we sit in this situation. Though in 365 days, you will make two or three bad calls. That is absolutely fine, I guess,” he rued.