In an unexpected turn of events on October 17, India suffered a devastating collapse in their first innings against New Zealand in the inaugural Test of the series, held at Bengaluru. On Day 2 of the match, the Indian team found themselves facing one of their most humiliating performances with the bat in the history of Test cricket. Rishabh Pant, the team’s wicketkeeper-batsman, emerged as the top scorer in a sinking ship, managing to score only 20 runs. He was among the mere two players who breached the double-digit mark, as India stumbled to a meager total of 46, their third-lowest score ever in Test cricket.
In a forgettable innings, the hosts were rendered helpless at the hands of New Zealand’s pacers, spearheaded by Matt Henry. The apparently tricky pitch conditions, augmented by the overcast weather, aided the Kiwi bowlers in dismantling the Indian batting order with relative ease. As many as five Indian batsmen were dismissed without scoring a single run, contributing significantly to the embarrassing total. Yet, the team narrowly avoided repeating their worst score ever, 36 all-out, registered against Australia in Adelaide four years prior.
The abysmal performance became a hot topic on social media, where fans pointed out an uncanny prediction made by England cricketer Jofra Archer. Known for his Nostradamus-like foresights on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Archer had tweeted the number 46 back in 2014. Fans quickly associated this decade-old tweet with India’s score, adding the incident to the list of Archer’s eerily accurate predictions.
The impact of this batting debacle was felt not only in terms of the total score but the breaking of numerous unwanted records. This included ranking among the lowest scores by the Indian team in Test history. As cricket aficionados shared their bemused reactions online, several memes surfaced, drawing parallels with historical cricketing moments.
. Notably, comparisons were made to the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s notorious record low in T20 cricket, given that the Test match was being played in Bengaluru – home to the RCB franchise.
The day for India commenced poorly as they found themselves faltering at 13/3 before rains briefly interrupted play. The brief respite did little to aid the Indian cause. Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, the only batters in double figures, offered a momentary halt to the fall of wickets. But the lethal duo of Matt Henry and William O’Rourke quickly ran through the rest of the batting order, exploiting abundant seam movement generated by the sticky conditions.
When New Zealand came to bat, they displayed admirable composure and confidence. Their openers, led by Devon Conway, showcased dominance right from the start. Conway, with a dazzling display of aggressive batting, reached his half-century off just 54 balls before Kuldeep Yadav provided India with a long-anticipated breakthrough, dismissing Tom Latham. Despite this dismissal, the Kiwis marched on with tenacity, surpassing India’s paltry total without losing a wicket in the process.
For India, the priority now lies in preventing New Zealand from gaining an insurmountable lead. They aim to tighten the bowling and limit the host team’s first innings advantage. This unsavory situation indeed sets the stage for a compelling series, with India hoping to bounce back from this harsh setback.
This unexpected sequence of events has not only challenged the Indian team’s batting approach but also captured the attention of cricket enthusiasts worldwide, thanks in part to Archer’s intriguingly prophetic social media posts. As both teams advance in the series, much scrutiny will linger over India’s ability to rebound from this shattering defeat and regain their standing in international cricket.
