Michael Atherton humiliates Virat Kohli with brutal dig over India's batting horror show

Former England National Cricket Team player Michael Atherton addressed India's defeat to New Zealand in the first Test of the series. He took a subtle dig at Virat Kohli, saying that his CV now includes being a part of two of India’s three lowest-ever scores.

India National Cricket Team had a poor start to the three-match Test series against the New Zealand National Cricket Team. They faced an 8-wicket loss at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and also lost crucial World Test Championship points as well.

What was the major reason behind their loss was their poor batting effort in the first innings. In what was a horrible outing, they got all out for just 46 runs, which was the lowest-ever score they got out in a Test match at home conditions.

Although they came up with a great batting effort in the second innings after they got out for 46 runs, it was a catching game for them. New Zealand, who had taken a massive lead of 356 runs in the first innings, chased the target of 107 runs to go 1-0 up in the series.

Welcome to my world, Rohit - Michael Atherton

Michael Atherton related his playing days with Rohit Sharma, saying that there isn't much common ground between him and the India skipper. He recalled England's Test match against West Indies, where, under his leadership, the team got all out for 46 runs. Writing in his column for the Times, he explained:

"Welcome to my world, Rohit. There is not that much common ground between myself and India’s swashbuckling captain, Rohit Sharma, but we both now know what it is like to captain a side that has been bowled out for 46. All the feverish adulation from a billion fans doesn’t diminish the hurt pride that follows such ignominy.

"Earlier this year marked the 30th anniversary of my team’s 46 all out in Port of Spain, Trinidad, highlighted with a lengthy recollection in these pages. Having parked the events for so long to the back of my mind, there was a grisly kind of pleasure in revisiting them.

"The memories came flooding back readily. The dramatic bowling of Curtly Ambrose, knees and arms pumping on an increasingly uneven pitch; the intense atmosphere of the Queen’s Park Oval, in the days when Test cricket was well supported in the Caribbean; and the growing sense of panic and doom in the dingy, sweaty England dressing room that only hours before had been supremely confident of victory,"

Michael Atherton defends Rohit Sharma's decision to attend a press conference after getting all out for 46

After India got all out for 46 runs, Rohit Sharma attended the press conference and admitted that it was his fault that he decided to bat first. However, after that team lost the game, he was criticized a lot, with people calling him a clueless captain.

Michael Atherton, while defending Rohit Sharma's decision to accept his mistake, said that it shouldn't be a problem. He elaborated:

"Why, by the way, is there greater opprobrium towards a captain who wins the toss, inserts the opposition, disastrously, over one who bats first and it all goes wrong? Rohit owned up, but it seems unlikely in years to come that he will be reminded of it in the way that Nasser Hussain was about Brisbane in 2002, when, having inserted Australia, his bowlers were flogged around the Gabba as Australia reached 364 for two at the end of the first day."

Virat Kohli’s glittering CV now includes being a part of two of India’s three lowest-ever scores - Michael Atherton

Michael Atherton further talked about India's batting collapse and took a dig at Virat Kohli. He highlighted how the batter's glorious career, filled with record wins and batting milestones, now includes two of India's lowest-ever team totals. He elaborated:

"More than a hundred years separated these two performances. Yet India’s 46 all out in the first Test against New Zealand came only four years after their lowest-ever score, 36 all out against Australia in Adelaide. India’s batsmen plumbed the depths again before the previous embarrassment had slipped from memory. Virat Kohli’s glittering CV now includes being a part of two of India’s three lowest-ever scores,” Michael Atherton concluded.