Bengaluru: After a memorable day for India where they were bowled out by 46 runs and ended up trailing New Zealand by 134 runs, Indian captain Rohit Sharma took responsibility in front of the media.

“Chalao talvar” (Go to attack), he said, trying to downplay the situation.

“We felt there wasn’t a lot of grass on the pitch and whatever it needs to do, it will work in the first two sessions. Then there will be a turning point. In India, the wickets tend to settle down after the first session and then the spinners come into play. “We expected the pitch to be flatter,” he replied when asked if he would select Kuldeep Yadav instead of an additional pace player.

“Obviously it was a misjudgment of the pitch. I didn’t read the pitch well enough, that’s why we’re in this situation today.”

The Indian captain is not the first to make a bad throw and have to pay a hefty fee for it. He won't be the last.

Consider Ricky Ponting's decision to bowl first in the Edgbaston Test match during the 2005 Ashes. England posted a score of 407/5 on the first day. Shane Warne called it “the worst decision ever made by a captain.” Nasser Hussain still regrets his call to invite Australia to play in the 2002 Brisbane Test, after which the Aussies scored 364/2 on the day and won comfortably. Think of ODI cricket and Sourav Ganguly's decision to bowl first in the 2003 World Cup final in Johannesburg, where India lost by 125 runs while chasing 360.

At the same time, there have been numerous cases of teams justifying the captain's reputation through courageous performances with bat and ball in adverse conditions. In fact, according to the data, teams have won 32 percent of the time after the captain lost the toss in 2553 Tests. In comparison, the match win rate (37) after winning the toss is not much higher.

The Indian team's batting strategy seemed to be bordering on aggressive to counter the New Zealand swings. It didn't pay off.

“You can say we were in a hurry. We got out with 46,” Rohit said. “At the same time, on wickets where there is some movement, every batsman has to set his game plan. We have often played on places like this. Sometimes you can't do what you want to do. It was a bad day for us.”

India's batting order demands also appeared to have been taken up for the wrong reasons. The team wanted to protect the No. 5 and 6 spots of Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul. After losing Shubman Gill to a neck injury, it seems of greater value to the cricketer to not have to expose the inexperienced Sarfaraz to the moving ball, keep Virat Kohli in his position and promote KL Rahul – who is better for handling is suitable for the new ball.

“KL has found a place at number 6. So we wanted him to bat there. The experienced players have to take on the additional responsibility. This time it was Virat. We asked him if he can bat at 3. This is a good sign that the players are accepting and accepting the challenge,” said the captain.

“We didn’t respond well to the challenge and that’s why we were bowled out for 46 runs. It hurts to see that number as a captain, but in 365 days you make two or three wrong decisions, I guess,” he sighed.