There was nothing great about the ball that dismissed Rohit Sharma: Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik pointed out Rohit Sharma's struggles against Tim Southee after the latter dismissed him for the 14th time in international cricket during second Test between India and New Zealand at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Day 1. On Thursday, Rohit perished for a nine-ball duck in India's first innings after they had bowled out New Zealand for 259.

Rohit has got out to Southee 14 times, the joint-most by any bowler along with South Africa's Kagiso Rabada. Karthik felt that Rohit was trying to bat cautiously against Southee as he knew about the problems he had while facing him in the past.

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“The ball was swinging a bit and Southee has had his number quite a few times. If you want me to get into stats, 14 times he has dismissed him in international cricket. He probably has an edge over Rohit, a little bit. Hence, he is aware that he is the bowler that Rohit does not fancy as much, so the batter was just taking his time. He came out defensive,” Karthik told Cricbuzz.

The former India wicketkeeper-batter said that there was nothing special about the ball that dismissed the Indain captain. It pitched on a good length area around middle and off and moved away off the seam. The lateral movement caught Rohit off-guard and he was completely squared up as the ball clipped the top of off-stump after deflecting off his back pad.

"That was a stock, standard ball for Southee. There was nothing great about it. Yes, it swung a little bit from the stumps, but that is what good international bowlers do. Rohit got out to a ball which he should not have. It might look good on screen. He played the ball rather badly. The way he defended was not the best way to defend that ball," Karthik said.

Rohit Sharma's topsy-turvy run in Test cricket continues

The 37-year-old scored just 42 runs from the four innings he played in the preceding Test series against Bangladesh. In the first innings of the first Test against New Zealand, the right-handed batter was dismissed after scoring two runs from 16 balls. However, he looked good in the second innings as he came out with an aggressive approach and scored a 63-ball 52, hitting eight fours and a six.

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After falling for a duck in the first innings of the second Test, Rohit will want to bounce back in the second innings as India look to restore parity in the three-match series against Tom Latham-led New Zealand.