Image source, DIBYANGSHU SARKAR / AFP via Getty Images
The Indian team has faced the second biggest defeat in ODI history.
New Zealand defeated India by 244 runs in the fourth ODI played at Bay Oval ground on Friday.
Chasing the target of 334 runs, the Indian team was all out for just 89 runs in 26.4 overs. Despite this defeat, India is leading 2-1 in the five-match series.
New Zealand's fast bowler Matt Henry sent Indian team's veteran Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and captain Shreyas Iyer to the pavilion without opening the account in the very first over of the innings.
After the defeat, Indian team's head coach Gautam Gambhir called batting a matter of concern.
Gambhir said that the batsmen will have to adapt themselves to challenging conditions.
According to Gambhir, the correct line and length of New Zealand bowlers troubled the Indian batsmen more.
At the same time, Indian captain Shreyas Iyer credited New Zealand's bowling for the victory.
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He said that Matt Henry bowled in the right areas from the beginning and gave trouble to the Indian batsmen.
'I don't want to go into the technical aspects'
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In fact, in the press conference after the match, Gambhir was asked why Indian batsmen were looking weak against wobble seam bowling?
Actually, 'wobble' means to wobble or wobble in the air. When the bowler bowls the ball with this technique, the ball wobbles slightly instead of going straight after falling in the air or on the pitch.
On the question related to this, Gambhir said, "I do not want to go into the technical aspects. There was not much movement in the ball. It is the job of the batsmen to stop the movement of the ball. The length and area of the bowlers more than the seam troubled us. Our batsmen remained stuck at the crease."
Referring to the last match, he said that the team is continuously losing wickets, which is a matter of concern.
According to Gambhir, the batsmen will have to be mentally and technically prepared to face such situations.
He said, "We have experienced players and hopefully they will perform better in the last match."
Gambhir also expressed concern over the mistakes made in fielding.
Gautam Gambhir praised the bowling of Matt Henry, but refused to consider his balls invincible.
He said that the Indian team has experienced batsmen and they should be able to face such bowling.
Gambhir said, "In international cricket, there is no ball that cannot be played. Matt Henry bowled in a good place, but we should know how to face it. When your entire team is out for around 90 runs, it is natural to be worried. This is the situation when the World Cup is near. In the last match too, we had lost seven wickets, so it is a matter of concern for us."
Gambhir also expressed concern over the mistakes made in fielding. Special mention was made of New Zealand's centurion Will Young missing two catches.
Young took advantage of these opportunities and played an inning of 125 runs and played an important role in taking New Zealand to 333 runs.
What did captain Shreyas Iyer say
At the same time, Indian team captain Shreyas Iyer, while defending the team's batsmen after the defeat, said that no player lost his wicket due to carelessness, rather the New Zealand bowlers bowled excellently.
Iyer said, "There was a lot of difference in the behavior of the wicket in the first and second innings. However, the credit for this also goes to Matt Henry. He bowled in the right area from the very first ball. His performance was excellent."
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The Indian captain admitted that the team adopted many bowling strategies during New Zealand's innings, but the host batsmen faced them well. He also cited missed catches in fielding as a reason for the defeat.
Iyer said, "In the first innings we tried almost everything. New Zealand's batsmen were batting very well. We felt that after 330 runs, the wicket was better for batting and we would achieve the target. However, we also missed some catches, but this happens in cricket."
"When we reached the dressing room, we thought that we would chase the target easily. But seeing the way the ball was seaming, it was difficult for the batsmen to decide in advance how to play. If you look at the way wickets fell, no one gave away their wickets. New Zealand bowlers bowled well."
Despite the defeat, Shreyas Iyer appealed to the team players to leave this match behind and focus on the next match.
Iyer said, "It is important to forget this match and move on. We have to analyze the mistakes made in bowling and batting. However, we should also remember that we have won two matches. Taking inspiration from those wins, we will have to enter the next match with a new perspective and positive thinking."
New Zealand captain said – our target was bigger
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner expressed happiness over the big victory of 244 runs. He jokingly said that it was good that his team did not have to bowl again.
Santner praised Will Young's century and said that he played an important role in taking the team to a strong score.
However, according to him, the New Zealand team was aiming for 360 runs and the batsmen had a chance to score some more runs.
Santner also praised the bowling of Matt Henry. He told that Henry was very eager to play in this match and he was the best bowler to take advantage of the conditions with the new ball.
He said that the strategy for the next match will be decided after assessing the pitch and conditions on Sunday.
What did Dinesh Karthik, Anjum Chopra and Ajay Jadeja say?
Image source, Idrees MOHAMMED / AFP via Getty Images
The performance of Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav was disappointing. Kuldeep gave 73 runs in eight overs, but did not get a single wicket.
Regarding Kuldeep's bowling, former Indian wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik said that he could have done better in his run-up and the way he released the ball.
Speaking to Cricbuzz during the mid-inning break during the match, Dinesh Karthik said, "Kuldeep needed to pay more attention to his run-up and the way he left the ball. However, it is not easy to suddenly come into an international match and perform well after being out of the playing eleven for a long time."
At the same time, former Indian cricketer Anjum Chopra has raised questions over Mohammed Siraj not getting a place in the playing eleven in the fourth ODI against New Zealand.
During a discussion on Sony Sports, he called it unfair to the experienced fast bowler.
Anjum believes that Siraj, who was in good form, was not given a chance to play on the field even after being included in the team.
In the same discussion, former Indian all-rounder Ajay Jadeja also expressed surprise at Siraj not getting a chance in the fourth ODI.
He said that the rest of the Test players had already been released from the team to prepare for the Test series, but Siraj was retained with the team.
From this it seemed that he might get a chance in the last two ODI matches.
However, Jadeja also said that it is possible that Siraj may have some minor injury or problem, due to which the team management does not want to take the risk of playing him.
He said that maybe the team is planning to give him a chance in the next match. According to Jadeja, Siraj is not a new player and his ability cannot be questioned.
Sunil Gavaskar praised New Zealand
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Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar praised New Zealand's spectacular victory during a discussion on Sony Sports.
He jokingly said that if there had been follow-on in the match, the audience would have got a chance to see Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli batting once again.
Gavaskar said, "New Zealand won by 244 runs, which is a huge win. We were all sitting in the lounge and joking that if there had been a follow-on, we would have got another chance to see Rohit and Virat. However, there is still one match left."
During this, Gavaskar praised the performance of New Zealand bowlers. He cited the excellent line and length of the bowlers as the main reason behind the dismissal of the Indian batsmen.
He also agreed with Shreyas Iyer and said that Indian batsmen did not lose their wickets easily.
According to Gavaskar, the precise line and length with which Matt Henry bowled and the way he swung the ball made it not easy to bat.
He also used bouncers in between, which increased the difficulties of the batsmen.
The former captain said, "The bowling was excellent. Matt Henry's line and length were excellent. He was moving the ball well and was also using bouncers at times. It was not easy to bat in such a situation. As Shreyas also said, no one gave away his wicket. The batsmen were out on good balls and this happens many times in cricket."
Published by Collective Newsroom for the BBC.
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