Captain Shreyas Iyer defended the batsmen after India's 244-run defeat in the fourth ODI against New Zealand. He said that Indian players did not lose wickets by playing bad shots, rather Matt Henry bowled brilliantly.
Sports News: The Indian team's batting faltered badly in the fourth ODI against New Zealand. Team India, which set out to achieve the target of 334 runs, was all out after scoring only 89 runs. After this crushing defeat, captain Shreyas Iyer defended the batsmen. He said that the Indian batsmen did not lose their wickets due to carelessness, rather the New Zealand bowlers bowled excellently in difficult conditions. Iyer especially praised the performance of Matt Henry.
What did Shreyas Iyer say after the 244-run defeat?
Team India had to face a big defeat in the fourth ODI played between India and New Zealand at Bay Oval on Friday, 13 November 2026. Shreyas Iyer, who was captaining India in the match, tried to boost the morale of the players after the end of the match. While talking to the broadcaster, Iyer said that the New Zealand bowlers gave trouble to the Indian batsmen from the very beginning. Especially Matt Henry bowled consistently on the right line and length.
The captain admitted that there was a difference in the behavior of the pitch in the first and second batting sessions. According to him, the way the ball was going in and out through the seam, it was not easy for the batsmen to decide to play the shot. Iyer said that if we look at the way Indian batsmen got out, no one lost his wicket by playing a bad shot. He gave credit for this to the New Zealand bowlers.
India lost three big wickets in the first over itself
In response to New Zealand's 333 runs, the Indian team had a very poor start. Matt Henry dismissed Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer in the very first over. Rohit Sharma returned to the pavilion on the first ball of the innings without opening his account. After this, Virat Kohli also got bowled at zero. Captain Shreyas Iyer was out LBW on the last ball of the over.
After the first over, India's score was three wickets without any runs. After some time, Ruturaj Gaikwad also got out after scoring five runs. Indian batsmen could not recover from these initial setbacks. Ishan Kishan scored 27 runs, Akshar Patel and Naman Dheer scored 21-21 runs, but the rest of the players could not play big innings. Matt Henry took six wickets for 27 runs. Matthew Fisher got three wickets and Kyle Jamieson got one wicket.
The target seemed easy after seeing more than 330 runs.
Shreyas Iyer said that after New Zealand's innings, there was a positive atmosphere regarding batting in the Indian dressing room. New Zealand had scored 333 runs. The way the host batsmen played their shots, the Indian players felt that the pitch was good for batting. According to Iyer, the team was confident that it could bat well while chasing the target. But the movement of the ball increased the problems in the second innings.
He also said that the Indian bowlers adopted different strategies during the New Zealand innings, but the host batsmen appeared to be in good form.
The captain also expressed his views regarding the missed catch.
The fielding of the Indian team was also under question in the fourth ODI. New Zealand's opener Will Young got life in two consecutive balls in the beginning. In the second over, Rohit Sharma dropped his catch in the slip. Even wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan could not catch the next ball. At that time Young was playing after scoring only five runs. Later he scored 125 runs in 108 balls and played an important role in taking New Zealand to a big score.
Iyer admitted that some catches were missed, but he called it a part of the game. However, New Zealand's innings could have gone in a different direction if they had got early wickets.
What message did you give to the team before the last ODI?
Shreyas Iyer said that the team will have to learn from this defeat and move forward. It is necessary to review the mistakes made in batting and bowling. He reminded the players that India had won the first two matches of the series. Therefore the team should take confidence from those wins. India is currently leading 2-1 in the five-match series. The third match was canceled due to rain.
Now the fifth and last ODI will be played on 15 November. India would like to win the last match and win the series, while New Zealand will have a chance to level the series.