Indian cricket is currently going through a difficult phase. The wounds of the crushing Test series defeat to New Zealand two years ago had not yet healed, and now history has been made in ODIs as well. For the first time, India lost an ODI series at home to New Zealand. After winning the opening match, Team India lost the next two matches, losing the series 1-2.
Sunil Gavaskar spots the reasons behind India’s defeat vs NZ
India’s defeat in the third ODI was the most painful. The Kiwis recovered from 2 wickets down for 5 runs to reach 338/7. Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips turned the match around with a 219-run partnership for the fourth wicket. In response, Virat Kohli scored a brilliant century, his 54th ODI century, but he lacked support from the other end. Ultimately, India lost the match by 41 runs.
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After the match, Sunil Gavaskar spoke openly about Team India’s defeat. He avoided blaming any single player, pointing to a larger reason. Gavaskar believes India’s fielding allowed New Zealand to stay in the match. Speaking to Simon Doull, Gavaskar said, “I don’t want to name names, but some players allowed singles too easily. Rohit Sharma is agile and everyone knows Virat Kohli’s fielding, but I felt the fielding overall could have been more active.”
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India bowled brilliantly initially. Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana dismissed Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls early. Will Young’s wicket followed, but India remained unbeaten for 31 overs. Meanwhile, Mitchell and Phillips put pressure on the Indian bowlers and fielders.
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However, India’s fielding in Indore looked better than before. The team conceded only three extra runs. Ravindra Jadeja, whose batting had been questioned, also took a brilliant catch. Despite this, the series slipped away from India. Gavaskar had previously expressed surprise after the second ODI in Rajkot. New Zealand achieved the target of 285 runs with just seven wickets lost and 15 balls to spare.
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Gavaskar had then said, “I expected India to take advantage of the slow pitch and restrict New Zealand to 260-270. But a 150-plus partnership between Will Young and Daryl Mitchell took the match away from India. Mitchell’s fitness and running put constant pressure on the fielders.” Clearly, according to Gavaskar, the main reason for India’s defeat wasn’t their batting or bowling, but their sloppiness on the field.
