Rohit Sharma bites his tongue after fielding blunder in 'unnecessary' act of 'desperation' after NZ's record lead
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India's innings of torment, 24 hours after their historic low on home soil, ended on Friday afternoon as New Zealand secured a mighty 356-run lead in the opening Test of the three-match series. After a flurry of wickets at the start of Day 3 in Bengaluru, India were frustrated by a record-equalling triple-figure stand for the eighth wicket between Tom Southee and centurion Rachin Ravindra as New Zealand were folded for 402.
India seemed to have come up with a definitive plan against the visitors as they picked four wickets in the opening hour of Day 3, hoping to fold New Zealand for a lead of less than 200 runs. But frustration began to mount as Southee and Ravindra negated the early threat from the spinners, before putting on a counter-attacking show, to post a century stand. En route, the former New Zealand captain scored his seventh Test half-century, while Ravindra notched up his second career ton and became the first centurion for the country in India since 2012.
With frustration increased desperation for India to fold New Zealand and it was evident, as noted by commentators, when captain Rohit Sharma made a fielding error. It happened in the second ball of the 80th over of the innings, just moments before Lunch, when Southee punched a length ball from Mohammed Siraj towards cover, only for Rohit to collect it comfortably.
However, Rohit immediately threw it back to the wicketkeeper, which was deemed "unnecessary" by the commentator. The latter further exclaimed, "he showed too much desperation," as Rishabh Pant, caught unaware, missed the throw from Rohit as the ball raced away towards the boundary.
New Zealand take 356-run lead
Ravindra's knock of 134, the fourth-highest individual score by a New Zealand batter, saw the visitors finish their first innings with 402, which subsequently handed them a lead of 356 runs. Ravindra stitched his knock in 157 balls with 13 fours and four sixes, while Southee made a fine 65 to add 137 for the eighth wicket with the former, adding to India's woes after they were all out for an embarrassing 46 in the first essay.
For India, Ravindra Jadeja took 3/72, Kuldeep Yadav grabbed 3/99 while Mohammed Siraj claimed two wickets.
