It was never an easy task for India to bounce back from a 46 all out. But they have instilled a sense of belief, be it through the recovery effort of Sarfaraz Khan-Rishabh Pant, who posted a total of 462 runs in the second innings, or through Jasprit Bumrah, who bowled his heart out on Sunday and picked two early wickets . But New Zealand remained patient and eventually surpassed the target in the opening session on day five in Bengaluru to secure a historic victory.

The defeat ended India’s winning streak at home. Since Hyderabad’s loss to England earlier this year, India have won six times in a row. This also put India in a precarious position regarding their qualification plans for the World Test Championship final.

After the eight-wicket home defeat, the first against New Zealand in 36 years and the third overall in 33 matches dating back to 1955, head coach Gautam Gambhir was seen having a lively and extensive conversation in the Indian dressing room with captain Rohit Sharma. Assistant coach Abhishek Nayar was also present during the conversation as the two coaches did most of the talking.

Rohit Sharma is convinced that India will make a comeback

Despite the setback in Bengaluru, where India experienced overcast Test conditions that largely benefited the New Zealand fast bowlers, Rohit expressed confidence of making a comeback in the second Test in Pune next week. In his post-match speech, Rohit vividly recalled how India fought through a similar situation in the series against England earlier this year and won the next four games.

“New Zealand bowled pretty well and challenged every corner of our bat and we didn’t respond to that. Games like this happen. We will use the positive and move on. There are people who have been in this situation before. We lost a game against England and then won four more friendly matches and we know exactly what is required of each of us. “We will try to do our best,” he said.