Team India faced a tough loss in the first T20I of the series against New Zealand on Friday night. Despite an incredible performance by Washington Sundar in all three departments of the game and a solid effort by Suryakumar Yadav, India was unable to secure a win in front of their home crowd in Ranchi. The team was missing two of its senior players, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, with Hardik Pandya as skipper.
The match began with New Zealand being invited to bat first and they posted a challenging total of 176-6, with opener Devon Conway making 52 off 35 balls and Mitchell Santner finishing the innings with an unbeaten 59. In response, India suffered a top-order collapse and was restricted to 155-9, ultimately losing the match by 21 runs.
After the game, Sundar attended the press conference where he spoke about the reasons behind India’s defeat. When asked if changes were needed in the team’s batting order, Sundar made a counter-question. “Do you think any change is needed? Do you think so?” he asked. The reporter said that he felt changes were needed, to which Sundar responded that the players had just had one bad day and that wins and losses are a part of the sport.
“All of them have got so many runs in T20s. One game can change everything? If you don’t get your favorite biryani in one restaurant, will you never go there again? It’s just one day. It happens. It’s a sport. All 22 players cannot perform. All of them have done well to get to this stage and they keep doing well,” Sundar said. He went on to say that the team management is calm and patient as long as they are learning from their mistakes. He believes that going forward, India will be a very strong side.
One of the most striking moments of the match was when the cameras turned towards MS Dhoni, who was present in the stands with his wife Sakshi to watch the series opener. The crowd went into a frenzy as Dhoni acknowledged them with a quick wave of the hand. New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham, during a post-match show on Star Sports, was asked about the crazy fan following Dhoni continues to have even a couple of years after his international retirement. Neesham replied that “It’s a great feeling actually. You sort of feel, you can fly under the radar. No one is really there to watch you bat or bowl. Everyone is there to watch someone else. I always quite enjoyed it to be honest, coming to India knowing that the pressure will be on someone else.”
India will now look to bounce back in the second T20I of the series on January 29 in Lucknow. The team will have to put this defeat behind them and focus on making the necessary adjustments to secure a win in the next match. While the loss in Ranchi was a disappointment, the team is determined to move forward and continue to improve with each match.
