Every game has a possible ending, such as a victory, loss, draw, or, in the worst cases, a washout or abandonment. However, the significance of an event lies in its ramifications.

At the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, New Zealand defeated India by eight wickets in the first Test match on Sunday. However, it was unlike any previous game, as records were broken and new ones made.

Tom Latham became the third Black Caps captain to win a Test in India after Graham Dowling (1969) and John Wright (1988), and it was the Kiwis’ first Test success in India since 1988. It was also just their third triumph overall in the red-ball format. When hosts India fell to an unthinkable 46 runs in the first inning of the Test, they not only broke their 36-year record against the Kiwis, but they also created a record for the wrong reasons. This is the third-lowest tally in Test history overall and our lowest ever at home.

Rohit Sharma, the captain of the Indian cricket team, was forthright in admitting his part in the disaster, even as the one major question, “What went wrong for India?” started to cloud every cricketer’s thoughts. Rohit Sharma said that he had misjudged the pitch. Because of the intense rain, the first day’s play was canceled, and the field was covered. He chose to bat first the next day despite the cloudy conditions since he couldn’t read the pitch effectively. His error cost the hitters dearly as the New Zealand pacers made good use of the situation to dismiss India for a pitiful 46 runs. In response, the visitors’ first innings concluded at 402 thanks to Rachin Ravindra’s outstanding century.

In the second innings, India rallied with a century from Sarfaraz Khan (150) and outstanding batting from Virat Kohli (70), Rohit Sharma (52), and Rishabh Pant (99). However, the lower-order hitters lost their momentum and fell easily, ending the inning at 462 and giving the visitors a 107-run winning goal. India’s efforts to control New Zealand were obviously insufficient.

India used two fast bowlers and three spinners to offset the captain’s terrible performance. When Akash Deep would have been a better option than Kuldeep Yadav, India needed to have used three fast bowlers. Why the team management chose a different spinner when they had superior choices for quick bowling remains a mystery.

Another obvious error made by head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma was the team’s selection. If the Indian team had used a fast bowler rather than a spinner, the game would have been different.

Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah bowled brilliantly, but it was unable to stop the Kiwis from winning the opening Test of the series. The fact that standout hitter Kane Williamson was unable to participate made this victory even more impressive for New Zealand.

India has the firepower to recover; thus, captain Rohit Sharma’s claim that “those three hours, when they collapsed on 46 runs, won’t define what this Indian team is and any judgement of his players based on that performance will be unfair,” is still valid.

Though it seems fantastic, his claim that India won’t alter their recently adopted aggressive strategy for Test cricket after only one loss is shallow since their strategy didn’t relieve the strain on their performance.

Being aggressive and playing one’s natural game are both acceptable; however, playing carelessly cannot be seen as aggression. In addition to their poor decision-making, Indian hitters also played carelessly, which contributed to an impending embarrassing loss.

India is still leading the World Test Championship standings after losing the first Test, while New Zealand moved up to fourth place.

Now that the Test series is still in play, India should try to put up a strong fight in the last two games.