India vs New Zealand 4th T20I match has concluded as the Kiwis finally get going in the series despite losing the series after losing the first three games. India were handed their second-biggest defeat (by runs) in men's T20Is after they lost the game by 87 runs at Eden Park, Auckland. Shreyas Iyer opened up about the team’s performance.

Speaking after the loss, Shreyas Iyer has now lost the second most matches in SENA countries. Iyer was gutted after the loss; he thought that the bowling department did not do as well as expected. The Indian team captain credited Glenn Phillips’ knock, who scored a hundred in the fourth game and took the game away from the Men in Blue.

Glenn Phillips stands tall for New Zealand

Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to field first, as they made two changes; dropping Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and bringing in Ishan Kishan and Mayank Yadav. New Zealand brought in Nathan Smith in place of Kyle Jamieson. Mayank gave the visitors a solid start and picked up the wicket of Tim Seifert early.

Daryl Mitchell was dismissed soon by Mayank as the Kiwis were struggling at 34/2 at one stage. From there, Glenn Phillips took over and stitched a small partnership with Finn Allen, who was back after 31 off 17 deliveries. Phillips kept his charge going as he and Michael Bracewell stitched 115 runs off 40 deliveries.

The latter scored 65 off 25 balls and changed the momentum, with Glenn scoring 107 off 49 deliveries, smashing 10 sixes and 6 fours. The home side posted a huge total of 259/7 in their 20 overs, with Mayank Yadav the pick of the bowlers with 48/3 in his four overs.

India fall short at Auckland

While chasing, the Men in Blue did not have the best of starts; Sanju Samson lost his wicket early, and then Ishan Kishan also followed for a duck. Abhishek Sharma and Shreyas Iyer then stitched a small partnership, but the wickets kept on falling at regular intervals.

Tilak Varma was the highest scorer with 35 runs, and no batter could get a half-century in the match. Shreyas Iyer’s side fell short in the run chase as they scored 172/9 in their 20 overs.

"I think we fell a bit short in our bowling": Shreyas Iyer takes a swipe at bowling attack

After the match, Shreyas Iyer stated that he felt that the bowling department failed to execute their plans. He also congratulated Glenn Phillips for his exceptional knock and the shots he played, and this is what the team should learn from him. Further adding to the bowling performance, he said that they will have to reflect to improve in the next game.

Shreyas Iyer stated (as quoted by Cricbuzz) "[Thoughts on the performance tonight] Yeah, absolutely. I think we fell a bit short in our bowling to start with. Powerplay, especially in the third over, they got that momentum from there on, and yeah, couple of bowlers, they tried to squeeze in, but I think exceptional knock by Glenn. Some phenomenal shots, which were like pure bliss. So kudos to him. He's been consistent throughout the series, so lot to learn from him."

He further added, "[Assessment of the bowling performance and plans for the next match] Yes, absolutely. I feel that it's important to retrospect, see where we can actually bounce back, coming into Hamilton and just a day off. So I personally feel that we can probably go back to the drawing board and see to it we analyse and try to execute to the best of our abilities in the next game."