We fell a bit short in our bowling - Shreyas Iyer reflects on India’s 87-run defeat to New Zealand in fourth T20I

India captain Shreyas Iyer admitted his bowlers fell short after New Zealand beat India by 87 runs in the fourth T20I at Eden Park, Auckland, on Friday.

New Zealand made 259/7, their highest T20I total and the highest ever scored against India, before restricting India to 172/9. It was India’s first defeat of the five-match series, which they still lead 3-1.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Iyer said, “I think we fell a bit short in our bowling to start with. Powerplay, especially in the third over, they got that momentum from there on, and yeah, couple of bowlers, they tried to squeeze in, but I think exceptional knock by Glenn.”

He added, “Some phenomenal shots, which were like pure bliss. So kudos to him. He’s been consistent throughout the series, so lot to learn from him.”

Glenn Phillips (49-ball 107) became only the second New Zealand batter to score a T20I century against India, as he and Michael Bracewell (25-ball 65) put on 115 off 40 balls for the fifth wicket, after Mayank Yadav (3/48) helped India reduce the hosts to 112/4 in the 11th over.

With the final game of the T20I series in Hamilton on Sunday, Iyer said India would regroup quickly.

He said, “I feel that it’s important to retrospect, see where we can actually bounce back, coming into Hamilton and just a day off. So I personally feel that we can probably go back to the drawing board and see to it we analyse and try to execute to the best of our abilities in the next game.”

Iyer also attributed part of the result to the short boundaries at Eden Park, which many of the younger players on the Indian team were facing for the first time.

The Indian captain stated, “Conversation was just that we knew that the dimensions are going to be like this, and some of them, it’s their first time playing on such grounds. So it takes a bit of time for them to adapt to the challenge. It’s not that easy, I understand that, but the way they executed the first three games, it was magnificent, and yeah, this is just a learning curve, I feel, that next time when they come here, they would probably have a better idea on how to go about their business.”

He concluded, “So a great learning curve, and hopefully we come back positive in the next game.”