Matt Henry and Will O’Rourke wreaked havoc with the new ball as New Zealand bowled India out for their lowest-ever score in a Test match at home. India were bowled out for 46 on Day 2, which eventually became the first day as the original Day 1 was washed out without a ball being bowled—in the first Test against New Zealand at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. India batted only 31.2 overs as O’Rourke and Henry utilised the overcast and damp conditions to perfection on Thursday.
As many as five Indian batters – Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin – were dismissed for a duck.
O’Rourke, playing his first Test match in India and only the fourth of his career, did most of the damage by picking up the wickets of Virat Kohli (0), Yashasvi Jaiswal (13), and KL Rahul (0). He returned with 4/22. And then it was Matt Henry who ran through India’s lower-order in the post-Lunch session to finish with immaculate figures of 5/15. In the process, he also reached 100 Test wickets.
India barely managed to hobble past their lowest-ever Test total (36) but they fell short of their lowest at home, which was 75 against the West Indies way back in 1987 in New Delhi.
Overall, this was India’s third lowest total in Test behind 36 against Australia in Adelaide in 2020 and 42 against England at Lord’s in 1974.
This was also the lowest total by any side in a Test match in India.
Lowest totals in India in Tests
46 – India vs New Zealand, Bengaluru, 2024*
62 – New Zealand vs India, Mumbai, 2021
75 – India v West Indies, Delhi, 1987
76 – India v South Africa, Ahmedabad, 2008
79 – South Africa vs India, Nagpur, 2015
India’s lowest totals in Test history
36 vs Australia, Adelaide, 2020
42 vs England, Lord’s, 1974
46 vs New Zealand, Bengaluru, 2024*
58 vs Australia, Brisbane, 1947
58 vs England, Manchester, 1952
India’s lowest totals in Tests at home
46 vs New Zealand, Bengaluru, 2024*
75 vs West Indies, Delhi, 1987
76 vs South Africa, Ahmedabad, 2008
83 vs England, Chennai, 1977
83, vs New Zealand, Mohali, 1999
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Siraj were the only Indian batters to hit a boundary on Thursday. The first boundary of the Indian innings came in the 13th over of the match.
