India were follow-on prospects against New Zealand in the just-concluded opening Test of the three-match series, and their first innings batting collapse had hurt them immensely, but the game was still within their grasp when Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant were batting in the second innings. It was a magnificent beginning from the top-order batters for India with Rohit and Virat Kohli, after whom Sarfaraz and Pant handled the rest of the game. The duo stitched together 177 runs that helped the hosts come back into the game. Sarfaraz played the dauntless brand of cricket by scoring 150 runs, while Rishabh took his time before beginning an onslaught. He dealt in boundaries towards the end of his knock as he departed for 99 runs. Also Read | Manoj Tiwary Supports Abhimanyu Easwaran as a Replacement for KL Rahul in India's Test Squad Captain Rohit said that Rishabh played a mature knock. The 37-year-old also bestowed Sarfaraz with some praise for his maturity and added that the 26-year-old was clear in his mind about the brand of cricket he wanted to play in the second innings. “A couple of partnerships were really exciting to watch and got us back in the game. We could have easily been bowled out cheaply but proud of the effort. Everyone is on the edge of the seat when those two (Sarfaraz and Pant) are playing. They like the play the game which has got them success,” Rohit said during the post-match conference. “Rishabh, with the way he bats he takes a lot of risks but I thought it was a mature innings in the game. Defended good balls and left a few balls and then backed himself to play those shots as well. Sarfaraz showed great maturity as well. He is only playing his 4th Test match and to show that kind of maturity and very clear in his mind what shots he wanted to play,” he added.