India captain Hardik Pandya suggested that both the teams were surprised with the Ranchi pitch but admitted that New Zealand played better cricket to outclass them in the first T20I on Friday. New Zealand spinners took the advantage of the turn from the surface as they kept taking wickets at regular intervals to put pressure on the hosts while defending a 177-run target.
India lost their top order early as Ishan Kishan, Rahul Tripathi and Shubman Gill became early victims with just 15 runs on the scoreboard.
The Kiwi spin trio of Mitchell Santner, Michael Bracewell and Ish Sodhi made the most out of the turn while controlling their trajectory, line and length well to give visitors their first win of the tour.
India vs New Zealand 1st T20I Highlights
“No one even thought that the wicket would play like that and both teams were surprised. But they played better cricket on this and that’s why the result end up like that," Pandya said in the post-match presentation.
While the flamboyant allrounder asserted that the new ball was assisting the spinners more than the old ball as he and Suryakumar Yadav managed to shift momentum in the middle overs a bit.
“Actually the new ball was turning more than the old one and the way it spun, way it bounced, it caught us by surprise. But somehow we pulled it back and were in the game till Surya and myself were batting," he said.
The 29-year-old admitted that India leaked some extra runs but assured that the team will learn from their mistakes .
“On hindsight, I don’t think this wicket was 177, we were poor with the ball and conceded 20-25 runs. It is a young group and we will only learn from this," he said.
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Pandya further heaped praises on Washington Sundar for his brilliance with the bat in the slog overs as he smashed his maiden T20I fifty but failed to guide India to victory.
“The way he bowled, batted and fielded, it was Washington against New Zealand today. We needed someone who can bat and bowl, gives us a lot of confidence and if he and Axar can continue the way they are, it will help the Indian cricket a lot," he concluded.
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