Wellington, Oct 25 — New Zealand head coach Rob Walter said his side's failure to close out games had proved costly in the two T20I defeats to India at Christchurch, though he was encouraged by how well the team had played for long stretches in both matches.
New Zealand ran India close but suffered back-to-back losses at the Hagley Oval with the same margin – four wickets. "It's a tough one, I guess. In T20 cricket, they’re the finest of margins, as we know. In both games we could easily have been on the winning side of it but weren't.
"Probably missed out on a couple of opportunities each time where you probably would have sealed the game off for us. It’s a bit of disappointment, but also very happy with how we’ve played. We hadn’t played much competitive cricket coming into the series as a team.
"Actually, I felt we’ve played pretty well in probably 80 percent of each game. We just haven’t been able to put the finishing touches on it each time, which is disappointing. But still so much good stuff to come out of both games so far,” Walter said in a video shared by New Zealand Cricket (NZC) on Sunday after the team arrived in Wellington.
The coach identified a couple of spilled chances in the field as the moments that tilted the games in India’s favour. “Just small little things along the way. Obviously, as we know, we had a no-ball wicket that influenced the game. A couple of missed chances in the field, and that sort of happens with the game. No one’s ever trying to make those errors, but it does creep in, and it can cost you.
"But I guess they’d be saying the same thing about their performance and a couple of missed chances, so that might have influenced their game as well. But I think for the most part, just continually improving and tweaking on some good performances already. I think the batting unit, different guys in the batting unit have done an exceptionally good job.
"Even I think back to last night, three down in the powerplay, it’s not often you get to 180 from that position. So Bevan and Glenn did a hell of a job there to get us to 180 in the end, which was a defendable total, if we’re honest. So, small little bits and pieces here. Probably from a batting unit point of view, things we could do marginally better here and there.
"But I think we’ve done pretty well in two outings. Then, from a bowling point of view, we got better from the first day to the next. I think our fielding intensity and effort can’t be questioned. The guys have been amazing, throwing themselves around. I think that was plain for everyone to see. Just a couple of conversions of opportunities that we should normally take, and that should be good enough," he said.
Walter added that conditions at Hagley Oval had shifted between the two games, with batting becoming tougher in the second match. “That’s the beauty of the game, isn’t it? No day is ever the same. Pitch has changed just a little bit. Conditions are always different, even if the day is the same. The surface was a little bit different. The starts to the game are different.
"Nothing ever flows the exact same way. It’s certainly a little bit trickier from a batting point of view, and that’s reflected in the scores. Probably also bowling units on both ends have bowled a bit better than the night before, having learned a few lessons from that. So, a touch trickier, but still a great game of cricket."
With the third T20I set to be played at the Hnry Stadium on Tuesday, Walter said the swirling winds and a drop-in pitch would ask fresh questions of players from both teams. "Obviously, it’s not your traditional cricket ground. When it comes to big stadiums like that, I think, in particular, the wind can swirl around a little bit. There’s no prevailing wind or specific direction that the wind comes from.
"It can make outfield fielding quite difficult if the ball goes up in the air. Obviously, for bowlers, having to contend with that. Just small little nuances. It is a drop-in pitch. Drop-in pitches can be inconsistent in that they’re not the same from one time to the next. The preparation and lead-in to the game influence what the pitch is like.
"Again, it’s going to test our adaptability, and we did that really well over two games. Now it’s about having to do it a third time on a third surface and really respond well to whatever conditions are presented to us. If we do that well, hopefully we’ll be in a similar position again," he concluded.