India and New Zealand, men’s international cricket made its debut at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara. Indian players and fans were excited to play on this new ground, but even on this new ground, one of Team India’s old weaknesses remained unaddressed. Within just 32 balls, this weakness of Team India was revealed again, costing India dearly.

Repeated mistakes by team India on the field

At the Kotambi Stadium, Team India won the toss and elected to bowl first, but had to wait a long time for their first breakthrough. This was due not only to the cautious batting of New Zealand’s openers but also to a mistake by Kuldeep Yadav. It all happened in the sixth over, bowled by Harshit Rana. Henry Nicholls played a cut shot on the second ball of his over, and the ball bounced towards the third man boundary, offering a catch. But Kuldeep Yadav missed the opportunity.

Kuldeep Yadav has made the mistake of dropping catches in several previous matches, which has cost Team India dearly. This time too, Nicholls played a strong innings and scored a half-century. When his catch was dropped, Nicholls was batting on just 4 runs.

This lifeline helped him give New Zealand a strong start and, along with Devon Conway, added 117 runs for a century partnership. Nicholls was finally dismissed in the 22nd over, and Harshit provided the breakthrough. However, by then, he had added 58 runs to his score. He scored 62 runs from 69 balls, including 8 fours.

Not just Kuldeep, Washington Sundar also made a similar mistake, and coincidentally, the bowler was Kuldeep. Devon Conway attempted a slog sweep off his delivery in the 19th over, but Sundar, stationed at deep backward square leg, was standing too far forward instead of closer to the boundary.

Consequently, he failed to judge the speed and direction of the ball, and a simple opportunity was missed. Conway also conceded six runs. He was on 38 at the time and was eventually dismissed for 56.