Rohit Sharma Ignores Virat Kohli's Advice; India Faces Setback

On Thursday, India's skipper Rohit Sharma and his predecessor Virat Kohli did not agree on the first day of the second Test match against New Zealand in Pune. Regarding India's decision to take a DRS against Devon Conway off Ravindra Jadeja's bowling, Kohli and Rohit were at the other end of the spectrum. When the umpire appeared to have made the right judgment, Kohli attempted to persuade Rohit not to take the review, but the India skipper refused, went ahead, and was left to regret the choice.

On the first day of the second Test at the MCA Stadium on Thursday, off-spin all-rounder Washington Sundar swept down the New Zealand batting order to record career-best figures of 7-59 as the visitors were bowled out for 259 by India. At one point, when they chose to bat first, New Zealand was 197/3 and seemed as if they would surpass 300. However, Washington's demonstration of drift and dip, along with his ability to adjust pace, reversed the tide of the match in India's favour and held New Zealand to a score of less than 260.

Shortly after Will Young was removed by Ravichandran Ashwin for his second wicket of the day. Jadeja whacked the batter on his pads as he came over the wicket to a set Conway. The quantity of turn following pitching gave the umpire confidence that it was not out as the Indians raised their hands in a concerted plea. But the opposite was true for the fielders in the vicinity. primarily Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant, who had previously contributed to Ashwin and India taking Young's wicket.

Rohit Sharma faces criticism:

The only fielder who appeared to have a different opinion was Kohli. Kohli approached Rohit to dissuade him from taking the DRS since he was positive the ball was missing a leg, but the captain had already made up his mind. India lost their first review of the match when he gave the T signal. Even on broadcast, Simon Doull emphasized, "No Rohit, come on. Don't take it. It's missing leg," but if only the captain on the ground could hear the voices.

When the ball passed off the hands and was pouched by Rishabh Pant after Young was dismissed for 18, replays showed a spike on the ultra-edge, supporting Sarfaraz's conviction. Rachin Ravindra survived a few close calls till lunchtime, but Conway was rock solid, especially in his sweeps. In the post-lunch session, Conway resumed at 92/2 and got his fifty off of a brilliant cover drive from Jasprit Bumrah. He then took advantage of Bumrah's deliveries' width by opening the bat late and striking off the backfoot to score consecutive boundaries.

After hitting Daryl Mitchell on the pads with a sharp twisting delivery, Washington Sundar requested a review after tea. This was a good review because replays showed the ball continuing to clip leg-stump. Washington kept hurting New Zealand, despite Mitchell Santner's attempts to boost the ante by hitting boundaries.

As the visitors lost their final seven wickets for 62 runs, Washington finished the New Zealand innings in spectacular fashion by rattling Santner with grip and turn to remove the off-stump. Glenn Phillips holed out to long-off off him, and the young all-rounder also castled Tim Southee and Ajaz Patel.

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