The exemplary performance by New Zealand lifted them to their first Test victory in India since 1988 as they beat the host (India) by eight wickets in the first Test on Sunday in Bengaluru. India were rolled for 46 in their first innings after Rohit Sharma decided to bat after winning the toss. 

The first day of the play was ruined by consistent drizzle and on second day Rohit’s decision to bat first was criticised severely as the conditions favoured New Zealand bowlers a lot. However, after the match Rohit Sharma said that three hours of bad cricket are not going to define this Indian team. 

"I am not going to look too much into this Test match honestly because those three hours are not going to dictate what this team is. It will be very unfair for us to think about those three hours and start judging players and talk slightly differently,” Rohit said during the press conference. 

"I think it's important to keep a consistent message in the group, which is to try and make a way whenever we are put under pressure, we try to make a way into the game in whatever possible way and that is what we have been talking about."

"And we really found a way to come back into this game with the bat in the second innings. Of course, we lost a Test match. That's why it probably won't make sense what I am talking about. But I honestly feel there have been a lot of good things that happened in this game. So it's just about keeping a very calm atmosphere, not to send panic messages."

India made a strong return with the bat in their second innings after Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant piled up 150 and 99 runs respectively to guide the side to 462. But, it wasn’t enough for the team to compensate for their first innings total, which was also their lowest total on home soil.