Hamilton, Nov 1 (IANS) India T20I captain Shreyas Iyer rued the drop in momentum with the bat during the first innings and an underwhelming show with the ball and the field as reasons behind India’s defeat to New Zealand in the fifth and final T20I of the series at the Seddon Park here on Sunday.
India put up 191/8 in the first innings on the back of half-centuries from captain Shreyas (50) and Ishan Kishan (61), but lost momentum when both the batters fell in back-to-back 11th and 12th overs as the Men in Blue ended short of what they might have wanted.
The surface had assistance for hard-length balls as several deliveries were skidding on and the Indian bowlers could not reap the desired rewards with the ball, although New Zealand did well enough in that aspect.
Tim Seifert’s 93 and Glenn Phillips’ unbeaten 65 helped New Zealand chase down the target with seven wickets in hand and 12 balls to spare. Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Shreyas reflected on the game.
“It was plausible, honestly. We could have been better considering the start we got in the middle overs, the way Ishan and I created the momentum. And then from there on we lost back-to-back wickets. And then suddenly pressure on the new batsman,” Shreyas said after the match.
“It wasn’t an easy wicket to play on, especially when the ball was seaming and holding a bit. And also skidding through at times. You must have seen a couple of us; Tilak and I got out in a similar fashion. So yeah, it was challenging, especially with that hard length. But to get to 194, yeah, it was reasonable, I feel. I think we still could have been better with our bowling and fielding. We were a bit sloppy,” he added.
Shreyas, however, called the series a great learning curve as they managed to register a 3-2 series win against New Zealand in overseas conditions. “But great learning. I think coming overseas, coming to New Zealand, getting to play on such different occasions, different grounds. Yeah, great learning curve,” he said.
Shreyas said the fifth match gave India another chance to experiment, after they had already won the series after the third T20I. “Absolutely, I think the first three games, absolutely, steadied the rhythm for us.
“And then coming into the last two games, I feel we were in this position where we wanted to experiment and also challenge ourselves a bit more. And today was the right opportunity. And obviously we didn’t live up to it. But a great learning, as I mentioned,” he said.
Naman Dhir dropped Seifert early on in the chase on 13, and Sanju Samson later failed to grab a sharp outside edge off Phillips in the 15th over. Shreyas said the team needs to work on fielding.
“So, I feel today was just that opportunity which we wanted to capitalise on, but we couldn’t. But we can brainstorm, and we have to work on a couple of things, especially fielding. That is one aspect of the game we need to improve on.
“But honestly, it’s not that easy when you come under such dark lights, clear skies. We don’t get that much in India. But yeah, great learning curve,” he added.
–IANS
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