We won four against England after losing first Test, says skipper Rohit Sharma
Bengaluru (PTI): Indian skipper Rohit Sharma is confident that his team will bounce back from the eight-wicket defeat against New Zealand in the opening Test by winning the next two games, just like it won four on trot against England earlier this year.
India paid the price for getting all out for 46 in the first innings, their lowest-ever total at home, despite special efforts from Sarfaraz Khan (150) and Rishabh Pant (99) in the second essay.
Rachin Ravindra was regal in both innings as he nullified India's ace spinners with ease.
"Games like these happen. We will move forward. We lost a game against England and won four games after that. We know exactly what is needed from each one of us," Rohit said at the post-match presentation ceremony here on Sunday.
He had been upfront in admitting that he read the conditions wrong but having said that, he never thought India would be bowled out for 46.
"I said in my press conference that we knew it will be sticky early on but we didn't expect to be out for 46. New Zealand bowled well and we failed to respond to that," Rohit said.
For the skipper, the silver lining was Sarfaraz and Pant's approach in the second innings where India scored 462 to set a target of 107.
"It was a good effort with the bat in the second innings. We didn't bat well in the first innings. So we knew what was ahead and couple of guys stood out.
"When you are 350 behind you can't think too much about it, just got to see the ball and bat. Couple of partnerships were really exciting to watch. We could have easily been bowled out cheaply but proud of the effort."
He was really happy that the young duo batted only in the manner they know.
"Everyone is on the edge of the seat when those two bat. Rishabh left a few balls and then played shots. Sarfaraz showed great maturity as well."
Practising on red and black soil in Chennai helped
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Rachin Ravindra is a Chennai Super 'King' and no wonder the city gave him ample opportunity to bat on red and black soil tracks in order to prepare for Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Ravindra's superb 134 off 157 in the first innings was largely responsible for New Zealand enjoying a 350-run lead and then he scored 39 not out in a tricky chase to earn the Player of the Match award.
"As long as I am clear and know my plan, it helps. Knowing when to go forward or back helps. Was trying to get a feel of different pitches while preparing in Chennai, red and black soil. Netted everyday, invaluable experience," Ravindra said.
"I try to be in good positions to be able to score, open up areas. Want to rotate strike too, not necessarily attack."
Ravindra's grandparents still live in Bengaluru and it was a special effort in front of his family members with his father in the stands.
"It's a nice city, was a nice wicket to bat on. Having family is emotional, phone starts blowing up, crowd too. Makes it even more special."
New Zealand skipper Tom Latham conceded that it was a good toss to lose taking conditions into account.
"I thought we'd bat, good toss to lose in the end. Guys put the ball in the right areas for a long time in the first innings and got rewards," Latham, only the third Black Caps skipper after Graham Dowling (1969) and John Wright (1988) to win a Test in India, said.
"I knew India would come back and they did but our bowlers showed up with the second ball. We know what a quality side India are, we thought the new ball would help them too, built a couple of big partnerships, hundred stand got us forward."
The skipper was all praise for William O'Rourke, who took seven wickets in the match.
"O'Rourke has been fantastic, has hit the international stage like he belongs. Hits the pitch hard and gets it to move in the air and off the pitch. Hard to face him in the nets.
"(Tim) Southee and (Matt) Henry too. Southee's partnership with Rachin was crucial. Rachin - a young guy who's played a few Tests, but he's slotted into a new role nicely over the last year. He settled the nerves with his batting today."
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Andhra to be developed as knowledge, creator economy hub: CM Naidu
New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms.
"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems.
He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion.
The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production.
He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative.
Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education.
He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit.
Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.
