Visakhapatnam: India suffered a 50-run defeat against New Zealand in the fourth T20 match at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium. Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav clarified that the primary aim was to provide opportunities to players who are part of the T20 World Cup squad.
In the game played on Wednesday, New Zealand posted a total of 215 runs for 7 wickets, thanks to a century partnership between Devon Conway (44) and Tim Seifert (62). In response, India was bowled out for 165 runs in 18.4 overs.
Following India’s first loss in the T20 series, captain Suryakumar Yadav explained, “We deliberately played with only six batsmen in this match. Our goal was to have five strong bowlers and to test ourselves. For example, if the target is 180 or 200 runs and we lose two or three wickets early, we wanted to see how the team would handle the pressure.”
He further emphasized that the intention was to give chances to players selected for the 2026 T20 World Cup squad. “We wanted to provide opportunities to those who are part of the World Cup team. Otherwise, we could have included other players as well,” he added.
Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and chose to field first, a decision that did not work in India’s favour. He said, “We opted to bat second because we have been performing well batting second. I wanted the players to learn how to chase under pressure, especially when the target is high and wickets fall early. It was a good challenge and a learning experience for us.”
Addressing the conditions, he noted, “The dew was quite heavy here. If one or two good partnerships had been formed, like the one by Dubey, and if another batsman had stayed longer, the match result could have been different. Losing by nearly 50 runs is significant, but one or two partnerships in a chase like this can change the game.”
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