Bengaluru (Karnataka): New Zealand pacers, led by the relentless William O’Rourke and Matt Henry, exploited gloomy conditions to the hilt to bundled out a clueless India to a disastrous 46, India's third lowest total in Test cricket history, on second day of the opening Test at M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Thursday, October 17, 2024. The first day of this match was called off due to rain.
India's previous lowest total was 36/10 which was came against Australia down under in a day-night Test match in Adelaide Oval in 2021. The second lowest total was 42 against England in 1974. Notably, this is India's team total in home Tests, with previous lowest dates back to 1987 against West Indies. India's 46 runs is also the lowest total in Asia surpassing 53 by West Indies against Pakistan at Faisalabad in 1986.
Pacers Matt Henry completed his 100th Test wickets in 33 Tests, claiming a fifer while William ORourke, who was playing his first match at home, picked up fours wicket a piece while Tim Southee picked a price wicket of captain Rohit Sharma.
Only two batters were able to cross the double digit mark including Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant. Pant was the top scorer for India with 20 runs off 49 balls with two fours while Jaiswal managed to score 13 runs off 63 balls with the help of a boundary. Notably, Men in Blue smashed only four boundaries in the entire innings. In the second session, India could add only 12 runs, losing the remaining four wickets. The Indian batters struggled to negotiate the conditions, folding in 31.1 overs.
India's aforementioned innings at Headingley in 1952 is the only instance of a team losing first four wickets without adding a single run in Test cricket.
34 runs is the lowest at the fall of the 6th wicket for India at home since 1969. The previous lowest was 27 runs against New Zealand at Hyderabad. This is the first time 4 of the top 7 Indian batters have got out for a duck in a home Test.