IND vs NZ: Sunil Gavaskar heavily criticises Indian team after series defeat

The Indian team has recently lost another ODI series defeat at home against New Zealand by 1-2. In the series decider at Indore, the Kiwi team defeated India by 41 runs. This is New Zealand’s first-ever ODI series victory on Indian soil as well. New Zealand outclassed the Indian team in all departments and successfully clinched the series. 

After the series loss, several former Indian cricketers and experts criticised the Indian team’s performance. Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar also slammed the team’s fielding. He stated that due to poor performance in the fielding department, Shubman Gill & co.' hopes of winning the series were hampered.
According to Gavaskar, the Indian fielders easily gave a lot of singles, doubles, and boundaries in the middle overs due to their poor fielding efforts. He didn’t mention any particular name.

Gavaskar asserted that the constant strike rotation made things challenging for Indian bowlers. Due to ordinary fielding, Daryll Mitchell and Glenn Phillips were easily able to set the crease and score runs. The duo easily made a 219-run match-winning partnership for the fourth wicket in just 186 balls, which allowed New Zealand to put a mammoth cricket score on the scoreboard. 

"I don't want to take names, but certain individuals allowed singles to be taken very easily. Yes, Rohit Sharma was quick, and Virat Kohli, we all know what an athlete he is on the field, but I just felt the fielding could have been a lot more proactive," Gavaskar stated.

In the match context, New Zealand scored 337/8 after being invited to bat first by Shubman Gill. Daryll Mitchell scored 137 runs, while Glenn Phillips amassed 106 runs. For India, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana took 3-3 wickets. In response, India could manage to reach only 296 runs. Virat Kohli hit his 85th international ton, but despite this, the Indian team was unable to cross the finishing line. Apart from Virat Kohli (124), Nitish Kumar Reddy (53), and Harshit Rana (52) also scored half-centuries, but this was not enough for the Indian team. 

After a thrilling ODI series, the two teams will now compete in a T20I series. The series opener will be played at Nagpur on January 21. After Nagpur, the remaining four games will be held on January 23, 25, 28, and 31. This will be the last T20I series of the Indian team ahead of the T20 World Cup, and that's why it is very important for both teams as they get ready for the mega event.