India Vs New Zealand 1st Test: Why Virat Kohli Batted At Three? Rohit Sharma Reveals

In a forgettable outing, as many as five batters were sent to the pavilion without scoring. The first one of them was Virat Kohli. The former India captain could not open his account before getting dismissed on his ninth ball by William O'Rourke.

Interestingly, the former India skipper was sent in at No 3 on Thursday in the absence of Shubman Gill who had to miss the Test match due to a stiff neck.

The decision to send Kohli, who generally bats at No 4, became a topic of debate on social media after the team was bowled out for their third lowest total in Test history. This was the first time since 2016 that Kohli batted one down in a Test match. The right-hander is yet to score a half-century in seven innings that he has played at No 3 in Test cricket.

In the post-match conference, India captain Rohit Sharma revealed that because the management did not want to change the batting order of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant, an experienced player like Kohli had to move up the order.

"The experienced players are the ones who have to take that extra responsibility. It is a good sign. This time, it was Virat. He was the one who was ready to do that. We asked him whether he can bat at number three," Rohit revealed.

The Indian skipper also said that because Sarfaraz, who replaced Gill in the playing 11, usually bats in the middle order, he was not forced in at three.

"We wanted to give Sarfraz the position that he usually bats four, five, six maybe. But we didn't want to change Rishabh and KL (Rahul). Hence, Sarfraz went at four and Virat batted at three," he said.

After India were bowled out for just 46, opener Devon Conway's 91 helped New Zealand race ahead with the lead. At the close of the first day's play, the visitors were 180/3, with a lead of 134 runs.