"You got 60 marks, but missed the remaining 40" - Ajay Jadeja on India's performance in NZ vs IND 2026 T20Is

Former India player Ajay Jadeja has opined that the Men in Blue secured 60 percent marks in the T20I series against New Zealand. He highlighted that the visitors won the first three T20Is of the five-match series, but suffered reversals in the last two games.

New Zealand beat India by seven wickets in the fifth T20I in Hamilton on Sunday, November 1. The hosts restricted Shreyas Iyer and company to 191/8 and achieved the target with 12 balls to spare.

During a discussion on Sony Sports, Jadeja was asked about India's performance in the five-match series.

"You can get 100 marks in a board exam. You have the pre-board first. You got 60 in the pre-board itself and 60 in the board as well. It's not like there was a minus because you lost the last two matches, but the 60 you got in the pre-board, and there was time after that, you didn't progress from there. You got 60 marks, but missed the remaining 40," he responded.

The former India captain opined that Shivam Dube and Axar Patel were among the visitors' losses after the series, with Naman Dhir potentially being the only gain.

"As a team, you fulfilled your aim, but there is a different aim. I believe the Indian team is never stagnant. It's a journey. We probably lost two or three players in this series. You left out Shivam Dube before the first match," Jadeja observed.

"That was a loss, and before leaving you lost Axar Patel, who was the vice-captain some time ago. These two players went out of the XI. What did you gain? You spoke about Naman Dhir. Has he taken Shivam Dube's place or not?" he added.

Shivam Dube didn't play a single game in the T20I series against New Zealand, with Naman Dhir and Nitish Kumar Reddy being preferred over him. Axar Patel played the first four matches but was replaced by Varun Chakaravarthy in the final T20I.

"The moment of the series was Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma's partnership" - Ajay Jadeja

In the same discussion, Ajay Jadeja picked Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma's partnership in the third T20I as the moment of the series.

"You won the series, but the celebration looked muted because you lost the match 10 minutes ago. The series victory is definitely the No. 1 highlight, but the moment of the series was Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma's partnership," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that the left-handed duo play with great freedom.

"You see a different kind of freedom in the way both of them play. Their thought process is like Gen Z's. There is no limit, no bar. 118 runs - it was a world-record partnership," Jadeja observed.

Abhishek Sharma (113 off 38) and Vaibhav Suryavanshi (45 off 19) smashed a record 118 runs in the Powerplay in the third T20I. Their blazing partnership helped the Men in Blue chase a 199-run target in just 13.2 overs.

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