Rohit Sharma took responsibility after India posted their lowest-ever home score in the first Test versus New Zealand, saying he was "hurting" after they were skittled for 46 runs. (More Cricket News)
After Wednesday's play was called off due to heavy rain in Bengaluru, India produced a historically bad effort with the bat as Matt Henry (5-15) and Will O'Rourke (4-22) starred for the Black Caps.
Five India batters – Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin – walked for ducks as New Zealand needed just 32 overs to bowl their hosts out.
India's score was their worst-ever on home soil, having previously been all out for 75 against West Indies in 1987, and the third-lowest in their Test history overall.
Rohit opted to bat after winning the toss in what many viewed as a puzzling decision, and he admitted he had misjudged the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium surface after stumps.
"You see and you try and make the judgement. Sometimes you make the right call, sometimes you don't, and I was on the other side of it this time around," Rohit said.
"I'm hurting a little bit because I made that call. But see, for us as a team, I think these are the challenges.
"So what if we put ourselves under pressure a little bit? We want to play well. We want to challenge ourselves.
"This time around, it didn't come off, the challenges that were thrown at us. We didn't respond well, and we found ourselves in a situation where we got bowled out for 46 runs.
"As a captain, it definitely hurts to see that number, but in 365 days you'll make two or three bad calls. That's okay."
Only twice has Black Caps bowler Henry bettered Thursday's figures in a Test innings, with seven-wicket hauls against South Africa in 2022 and Australia in 2024, both on home soil.
Speaking to reporters after the close of play, he said: "It was a great way to start the day but it was also about the way we could build pressure with the bat.
"There was a lot of grass taken off and we just wanted to keep it simple and there was a lot of assistance in the morning.
"The key is to control what you can control, to work on your game and improve. With the game affected by rain, it's important to have a dominant day like this. It's obviously tough to play in India."
