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Rohit And Gambhir's 3 Tactical Blunders  That Proved Costly For India In 1st Test

India collapsed to 34 for six on a seam-friendly deck [Source: PTI]India collapsed to 34 for six on a seam-friendly deck [Source: PTI]

The much-awaited first Test between India and New Zealand commenced on Thursday at the iconic M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. After the first day was washed out due to inclement weather conditions, India's passionate cricket fans finally witnessed some live action on day 2, with rain staying away from the high-profile affair. 

However, contrary to their expectations, the home side had a disastrous start to the match, as the visitors made merry on Bengaluru's seam-friendly conditions. Led by Tim Southee, New Zealand dominated India in the first session of the Test, reducing them to 34 for six at lunch on day 2. 

Such a top-order collapse was unexpected, considering India's incredible prowess as a Test side, particularly on home soil. So, as the hosts continue to struggle against the BlackCaps' rampant pace battery, here are three major tactical blunders that led to India's batting failure. 

Failure To Read The Conditions

Whenever there's a Test match in India, the toss-winning side generally opts to bat first. The reason is that the Indian tracks tend to deteriorate and assist the spinners significantly with time. So, the Indian team followed this trend, as Rohit Sharma opted to bat first despite the cloudy overhead conditions. 

However, the Indian team conveniently ignored the fact that the pitch would initially be a paradise for the fast bowlers, as it was under the covers for a significant period. In such a scenario, batting first was obviously a gamble and backfired badly on the home team. 

Underestimating New Zealand Pacers

Indian top-order batters might be familiar with tricky batting conditions at home, having faced a similar situation recently against Bangladesh. But, with due respect to Bangladesh and their pace battery, New Zealand possess a much superior unit when it comes to fast bowling. 

Barring the experienced Tim Southee, New Zealand have two incredibly good seamers, Matt Henry and Will O'Rourke, who are capable of bowling hostile spells. India found Hasan Mahmud a tough nut to crack, yet they decided to challenge themselves and bat first in these conditions against the Kiwi pacemen. This reflects that they somewhere underestimated New Zealand's pacers and, hence, paid the price. 

Bizarre Batting Order

Recently, India's head coach Gautam Gambhir stated that he wouldn't restrict his players from playing their natural game. This is an absolutely fine and logical statement. But when his side reeled at nine for two, having lost its two most prolific batters, it made little sense to promote stroke players Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant ahead of KL Rahul, who is a fantastic player of the moving ball. 

In fact, India could've treated Shubman Gill's untimely neck injury as an opportunity to test Abhimanyu Easwaran by asking him to neutralise the Kiwi pacers in Bengaluru. But instead of doing that, India made Virat Kohli bat out of his preferred number four position. Such a bizarre tactic hampered the balance of the Indian lineup, leading to their dramatic collapse in Bengaluru.