Christchurch, Oct 22 New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips said his side needed to take more wickets in the middle overs to prevent India from completing a successful chase of 226 in the opening T20I here on Thursday, while also defending his team’s fielding after being questioned about dropped catches.
India scored 230 for six in 19.4 overs to register a four-wicket win after New Zealand posted 225 for four, with Phillips making an unbeaten 82 off 40 balls.
Phillips acknowledged India’s batting quality and said New Zealand had to execute their plans better against an aggressive opposition.
“The bounce is probably a little more than they’re used to and they adjusted really well today,” he said, referring to India’s batting approach.
He felt New Zealand could have put India under greater pressure by taking wickets and building pressure through dot balls in the middle overs.
“We maybe took a couple more wickets in the middle or strung a few more dots together and we put them under pressure and they don’t chase it, then it obviously looks slightly different as well,” he said.
Phillips also credited India for completing the chase.
“You’ve also got to give credit to the chasing side for chasing 226. It’s always a good chase,” he said.
The New Zealand all-rounder was questioned about the impact of dropped catches but challenged the assessment of some of the chances being discussed.
“Drop catches happen. Four? Which ones?” he asked, before pointing out that some of the attempts being counted had not been touched by fielders.
“Yeah, so one from Mitch and one from Finn, so not really the other two. You’ve got to get your hands on the ball to catch it,” he said.
He added that dropped catches were part of the game but stressed the need to count them accurately.
“Catches happen and drop catches happen, but we need to be counting them properly,” Phillips said.
Despite the defeat, he was pleased with the way New Zealand continued to fight and take wickets during India’s innings.
“The way that the boys still fought, still held on in the middle, still took wickets. And that’s the, I guess, the fight that we’re after,” he said.
Phillips also spoke about the influence of the toss and dew in T20 cricket, saying a wet ball could make bowling more difficult in the second innings.
“Obviously, a wet ball becomes tough to bowl with and becomes a little bit more advantageous with the bat at the end of the innings,” he said.
On New Zealand’s fast-bowling resources, Phillips said the team had sufficient depth to manage workloads and maintain competition for places.
He said the availability of other frontline bowlers gave the team options if some of the regular quicks needed rest, adding that the depth of the pace attack was a strength.
Phillips also revealed that he had practised batting left-handed during his time in the IPL, explaining his approach to the final ball of New Zealand’s innings.
“The guys at the IPL last year probably got sick of me spending an hour batting and then 45 minutes batting left-handed as well,” he said.
Explaining his thinking, he said he had hoped to make the bowler miss his line and length.
“The hope was more to actually just get him to miss his line in length and hope that I was going to be good enough to hit it and today I guess I was,” he said.
Phillips also praised young teammate Bevon Jacobs for his confidence and attacking approach, saying the team culture encouraged inexperienced players to play their natural game.
“That’s a testament to the kind of character that we’ve built in this side, the culture where a guy who’s young, who hasn’t played too many games, can come in and feel like he can play his natural game,” he said.
Phillips said Jacobs did not need to hit a six off the first ball every time, but added that his confidence to attack was a positive sign for the team.
(PTI News)
