T20 series: Bowlers’ faulty length, top order failure give India reality check

• Phillips and Bracewell power New Zealand to a record 259 against India in T20Is.

• India concede 85 runs in the final five overs and lose by 87 runs.

• The defeat raises concerns over India’s bowling ahead of the ODI series.

If Indian fans thought the T20I series against New Zealand was done and dusted for all practical purposes, they were in for a rude jolt in the fourth match at Eden Park in Auckland this evening. Though it was a dead rubber, with India having already wrapped up the series, Shreyas Iyer and Co. will not forget this humiliation in a hurry.

New Zealand’s total of 259 for seven after being sent in to bat, thanks to the carnage unleashed by Glenn Phillips (107 off 49 balls) and Michael Bracewell (65 off 25 balls), was the highest ever scored against India by any opposition in this format. Adding insult to injury, the 87-run defeat was India’s second-biggest by runs in T20I history.

There are bound to be questions after such a resounding defeat — coming within three days of the one-sided win India secured on the back of Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s fireworks. That victory now seems almost an aberration, as New Zealand had run India close in the first two games before going down. Their show at Eden Park has exposed India’s bowling frailties badly.

It is not a new argument that New Zealand’s smaller grounds, with shorter square boundaries, can prove to be killing fields for bowlers. However, the new-look Indian pace attack failed to hit the right areas at a venue notorious for its unique baseball-diamond shape and repeatedly fed the home batters full-length deliveries.

India bled a staggering 85 runs in the last five overs, while Nitish Reddy seemed to have no Plan B against the brute power of Phillips, who took him on for four sixes in a row in the 16th over. A target of 260, albeit daunting, is not considered impossible in today’s T20 game, given the kind of firepower India have at the top of the order. But they failed to fire on Friday.

It was unfathomable to see young Vaibhav in the dugout, especially after his run riot alongside Abhishek in the powerplay in the previous game. The thinking was that head coach Gautam Gambhir had decided to stick to his tried-and-tested combination of Abhishek and Sanju Samson once again. As luck would have it, canny seamer Jacob Duffy dismissed both Samson and Ishan Kishan in the first over of the innings.

An asking rate of 13 meant the visitors had to swing at everything. Abhishek and Shreyas Iyer did just that, throwing their wickets away and leaving India staring at a hopeless situation with four wickets down inside the powerplay. That left too much on the plate for the middle order, and the writing was on the wall.

Next week, India will begin a five-match ODI series with a strengthened batting line-up, following the return of the Big Two as well as ODI captain Shubman Gill. However, the bowling attack appears short on both experience and guile, with Jasprit Bumrah also being rested from the series to focus on his red-ball responsibilities.

It will be interesting to see how they cope with the challenge.