Tim Southee secured an early breakthrough for New Zealand by dismissing India captain Rohit Sharma for a duck on Day 1 of the second Test in Pune on Thursday, October 24. The right-handed batsman faced eight balls before being out on the ninth delivery.
The dismissal occurred in the third over of India’s first innings. Southee bowled a good-length delivery around middle and off, and Rohit attempted to defend without moving his feet. The ball seamed back, evading Rohit’s edge and clipping the top of the off-stump, with a slight deflection off his back pad.
Consequently, India lost their first wicket for just one run. You can watch the video here:
https://x.com/chiku_187/status/1849399883351962004?s=46
Rohit Sharma has struggled to maintain consistency in his last four Test matches. The experienced batter scored 6, 5, 23, and 8 in the recently concluded two-match Test series against Bangladesh.
The Mumbai-born player then managed scores of 2 and 52 in the first Test of the three-match series against New Zealand. However, he did score two centuries during the five-match Test series against England earlier this year.
Rohit Sharma Departs Early But India in Command on Day 1
Rohit Sharma left the field early, but India appeared to be in control against New Zealand on Day 1 of the second Test. The hosts finished Day 1 at 16/1, with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill at the crease.
Batting first, New Zealand was dismissed for 259 in their first innings, with Devon Conway leading the score with 76 off 141 balls, including 11 boundaries. Rachin Ravindra contributed 65 off 105 balls, featuring one six and five fours.
Washington Sundar achieved his first five-wicket haul for India, ending with career-best figures of 7/59. Ravichandran Ashwin also claimed three wickets by removing the top three New Zealand batsmen. The Kiwis lead the Test series 1-0 after winning the first match by eight wickets in Bengaluru.
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