Rohit Sharma lavished praise on Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant for their "mature" batting and bailing India out of crisis in the second innings.
Rohit mentioned that "everyone is on the edge of their seats" while watching Pant and Sarfaraz bat but the duo showcased plenty of wisdom in terms of their shot selection.
"Everyone's on the edge of the seat when Pant and Sarfaraz bat," Rohit said with a grin on his face during the post-match presentation. "Pant's was a mature innings, he's done it for a while, he played his shots too. Sarfaraz was very clear and mature in just his third or fourth Test. (46 all out) I said it at the press conference after day 1, we knew it'd be a challenge, with overcast conditions and tricky pitch."
Rohit seemed pretty content with India's efforts with the bat in hand in the second innings after the first innings debacle and also admitted that India were behind the eight ball after New Zealand posted a massive total.
"It was a good effort in second innings with bat. We knew what lies ahead, get as many as possible. Couple of guys stood out, was great to watch. When you're 350 behind, can't think too much. Just have to try and bat the ball and see where the game goes. Was exciting to watch partnerships get us into the game. We could've easily been bowled under 350, it's something we're proud of," Rohit added.
Meanwhile, India are 1-0 behind in the three-match Test series. They are still atop the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) points table. Their points percentage (PCT) is 68.06% with eight wins and three losses after 12 games.
The next Test against New Zealand will be played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune from October 24 onwards.
