India captain Shubman Gill admitted his side were left disappointed with their performance in their 41-run loss to New Zealand in the series decider at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Sunday, adding that the side needs to reflect and improve ahead for bigger challenges.
Knocks of 137 and 106 from Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips took New Zealand to a commanding 337/8 on a two-paced black soil pitch, before the visitors held their nerve to overcome Virat Kohli’s valiant 54th ODI century – 124 off 108 balls – and bowl out India for 296 in 46 overs.
The result also marked India’s fifth home ODI series defeat since 2010. “After the first match, coming here 1-1, the way we played disappointed. There are areas we need to look back, reflect, and do better,” said Gill in the post-match presentation ceremony.
He praised Kohli’s impressive form and highlighted the contributions of Harshit Rana, who impressed with the bat at number eight by hitting 52 – his first ODI fifty.
“The way Virat is batting is always a plus. The way Harshit has batted in this series, batting at number eight is not easy. The way he stepped up and the way the fast bowlers bowled in this series was good as well,” added Gill.
Looking ahead to the 2027 Men’s ODI World Cup, Gill said the team management was keen to provide opportunities to young seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who hit 52 in the unsuccessful chase.
“Keeping the World Cup in mind, where it’s going to be, we want to give him (Reddy) opportunities, and we want to give him enough overs when he’s out there and just see what kind of combinations work for us and what kind of deliveries work for him as well,” concluded Gill.
India’s chase faltered early as Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul departed cheaply, leaving the hosts reeling at 71/4. Kohli (124 off 108 balls) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (53) revived the hosts’ hopes with a fighting 88-run partnership, while Harshit Rana added late fireworks via a 43-ball 52. But the target eventually proved to be out of India’s reach, as the result marked India’s fifth home ODI series defeat since 2010.
