Christchurch, Oct 24 — New Zealand batter Glenn Phillips called the close, high-scoring first T20I against India a "fantastic" match, which is "great for cricket" as Hagley Oval in Christchurch saw a run-feast, where India chased down a record 226 with four wickets in hand.
Speaking ahead of the second T20I between New Zealand and India at the same venue on Saturday, the New Zealand batter referenced that close games are great and that they help the crowd to return to the stadiums and watch cricket. "Yeah, it's fantastic, great for cricket (on close first game). To be able to have a game like that, going 220, playing 220, I think it's great for this crowd. It brings people back, and that's great for the game," he told broadcasters ahead of the second match.
The T20Is these days are often played with quick turnaround, as is seen during the New Zealand-India series. The two teams began the five-match series on Thursday and are again playing on Saturday with less than 48 hours of gap between the end of the opener and the start of the second game at the same venue.
Phillips, who made an unbeaten 82 from 40 balls in the opener, spoke on the importance of recovery during the short turnaround. "Yeah, I think it's about getting rest and recovery in. Obviously it's been fantastic down here in Christchurch, weather-wise. So I think a few of the boys got out there, played some golf, tried to get their mind off the game as much as possible, and then come back here and refresh and recover for today," he said.
He also said that he had a short break with his mates to Newton Peak and to the Southern Alps in between the two matches for some refreshment. "Yeah, for me, I actually took a couple of mates up flying. We went out to Newton Peak and to the Southern Alps. Fantastic. It was great to get out there, just free the mind for a little bit, do something that I love, and I guess come back, enjoy the evening, and rest and recover for today," he added.
Phillips switched to a left-hander against Bhuvneshwar Kumar on the final ball of New Zealand's innings and nailed a four on the final ball to take the Kiwis to 225/4. He admitted that he trains batting left-handed during the IPL and unleashed his learnings in the game.
"Yeah, I try to, especially when we have, I guess, the time overseas, like the IPL, for example, where you've got lots of net opportunities, lots of sidearms, lots of throwers. I guess it's a little bit remiss to not use that opportunity to upskill.
"And a big part of it was there, but then also if I have the opportunity before training sometimes, just get a little bit of left-handed work in, just to, I guess, keep thinking it over. You can't use it if you don't practice it," he added.