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India were handed a crushing defeat by New Zealand in the first of the two Tests at Basin Reserve in Wellington.
One of the major issues which were exposed in the 10-wicket loss was the inability of the Indian batsmen to rotate the strike which allowed New Zealand to bowl without being under any kind of pressure.
India failed to cross 200 runs in both the innings and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane believes that the Indian batsmen have to improve their way of playing the New Zealand pacers.
Rahane said,
“I am not saying (we have to be) more aggressive but having that intent and clear mindset will help us. As a batsman, if you going to think about a particular shot, then you need to back yourself and play that shot. You cannot doubt yourself. We need to forget what happened in Wellington.”
Rahane also spoke about what he and the other Indian batsmen can do in order to counter the plans of the Kiwis.
"There are times you need to be instinctive while you are batting. It can mean standing on off-stump, or standing outside the crease or staying deep inside the crease – like if it is a pitch for cut shot then you can stand deeper in the crease. This is the mental side of the game.”
Rahane himself was one of the Indian batsmen who failed to unsettle the rhythm of the New Zealand bowlers.
He feels that the Indian batsmen need to back their ability and put the bad balls away in order to score runs.
“For me, as a batsman it is important you show your intent to the bowler, if you stand in one spot then the bowler doesn’t need to change anything. These are small things we have been working on in practice and how to use the crease and the angles."
The second and final Test will start from 29th February at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
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