India suffered their most humiliating Test innings on home soil as Matt Henry and William O'Rourke spearheaded New Zealand's devastating bowling attack, dismissing the hosts for a mere 46 runs on the second day of the first match in Bengaluru.
After the opening day was entirely washed out by relentless rain, India's decision to bat first backfired spectacularly. The seam duo of Henry and O'Rourke dominated the proceedings, with Henry claiming an impressive five wickets for just 15 runs, while O'Rourke returned figures of four for 22. This performance left Rohit Sharma's team with their third lowest total in a five-day match, narrowly avoiding the 36 runs they made in Australia in 2020 and the 42 runs in England 50 years ago.
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Sarfaraz Khan were all dismissed early, with the team score at a paltry 10 runs. Kohli and Sarfaraz were both out for ducks. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant were the only batsmen to reach double figures, steadying the ship briefly with a partnership of 21 runs. However, from 31 for three, India quickly slumped to 34 for seven as KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ravichandran Ashwin all departed without scoring, with Jaiswal making 13.
Pant's innings of 20 was the highest score of the day, but Henry, who reached the milestone of 100 Test wickets, and O'Rourke ensured there was no recovery, cleaning up the tail in a remarkable display of bowling that handed New Zealand complete control of the match.
