IND vs NZ: Ravi Shastri joins fans in slamming Rohit Sharma's defensive captaincy

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IND vs NZ: Rohit Sharma's captaincy came under scrutiny after New Zealand built on their first innings lead after bundling out India for 156 runs on Friday, October 25.

Former India coach Ravi Shastri joined the chorus of fans in criticising Rohit Sharma for his defensive field placements after India conceded a 103-run first innings lead.

Shastri reckoned that at a time when India should have looked to bowl out New Zealand at a low score, captain Rohit Sharma should have set out an attacking field placement for his spinners with most close-in fielders.

"It also tells you tactically how you should be thinking. India should be thinking of bowling New Zealand out for 120. For that to happen, you need to take wickets, you need people in attacking positions. Yes, if the side gets to 60 for 0, you can start thinking differently. It also makes the bowler think that he wants wickets. Not with a spread out field like this," Shastri said on the broadcast.

Devon Conway was trapped in front of the stumps by Washington Sundar in the tenth over of the second innings. However, no major pressure was put on the new Kiwi pair of Tom Latham and Will Young. The two right-handers kept running easy singles to keep the scoreboard ticking.

Indian spinners continued leaking runs at a rate very unusual in home conditions. Ravichandran Ashwin's economy rate after 14 overs was 4.4, while Ravindra Jadeja gave away 48 runs in the first nine overs. Ashwin gave away 33 runs at 5.5 per over in his first spell.

New Zealand ended Day 2 at 198/5 which took their lead to 301 runs. After losing the first Test in Bengaluru by eight wickets, India are now on the cusp of losing the three-match Test series. Notably, India haven't lost a home Test series since 2012.