India coach picks main reason behind huge defeat in 4th NZ vs IND 2026 T20I

Team India's spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule attributed the team's defeat in the Auckland T20I against New Zealand to losing too many wickets in the powerplay. He also added that the Men in Blue could have done a better job with the ball by conceding a few runs lesser.

New Zealand beat India by 87 runs at the Eden Park in Auckland on Friday, October 30 in the fourth T20I of the five-match series. Bowling first, India conceded 259 runs. In the huge chase, the Men in Blue were held to 172-9.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Bahutule lamented the loss of wickets in the powerplay. Asked about what went wrong for India in Auckland, the former leg-spinner commented:

"Losing wickets in the powerplay. The moment you lose two wickets (early), you are always 30 runs short of the total. They bowled well. They bowled in the right areas. We tried to score as much as possible in the powerplay. It didn't happen. If we had managed one partnership post powerplay also, I am sure we would have been closer to the target. It was just a question of losing too many wickets in the powerplay."

Chasing 260, India lost Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan in the first over and slipped to 56-4 in the sixth over.

"It's a challenging ground in terms of dimensions" - Bahutule on India's batting in Auckland

During the press conference, Bahutule admitted that India's shot selection could have been better. He also added that the dimensions at Eden Park posed a challenge to India's batters as many of them were playing at the venue for the first time. He elaborated:

"Eden Park, obviously, it's a challenging ground in terms of dimensions. But I think we were very clear as to what we wanted to do. We were clear in terms of our strengths. And we wanted to execute our skills to whatever we could really work towards. But it didn't happen."

"I think today was a different day. I think we played really good cricket in the last three games. Different pitches, different conditions is something which we really learned to adapt to. That's what the effort was, but it didn't happen," India's spin bowling coach went on to add.

Meanwhile, India will take on New Zealand in the fifth and final T20I of the series at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Sunday, November 1.

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