“It’s important to bowl according to what we plan. We did not do that,” rued India captain M.S. Dhoni after the ODI series defeat here on Tuesday.
“The spinners bowled well but the pacemen gave too much width. We conceded too many boundary balls,” said Dhoni.
He added, “We have pacemen with talent. But they have to use their brains also. On this wicket they had to bowl back of a length around the off-stump.”
Dhoni was also unhappy with India’s slow start. “We were very slow at the beginning. The New Zealanders bowled well but we needed more runs at the start. After that we were always playing catching up.”
Asked about the decision to send Virat Kohli opening, Dhoni replied, “We needed to change something. We had a chat with Virat in the morning and he agreed. But it is only a short-term move. It’s only for this series.” Asked why Ajinkya Rahane could not open, Dhoni said: “The selectors want him to bat in the middle-order. They feel he has a future there.”
Kiwi captain Brendon McCullum was delighted with the series win. “We know what this Indian team is capable of. It is very satisfying. I am happy with the way we built up pressure.”
McCullum said: “It’s great to beat India on a pitch that assisted spin. Taylor and Williamson batted very well on this surface. Their spinners bowled well.” McCullum said his team was seeking to win the series 4-0. “That is very important for us. But we will celebrate the moment and enjoy the feeling for the next two days.”
Man-of-the-Match Ross Taylor said he and Williamson had played to a plan against the spinners. “Earlier we would just lunge forward and try to play everything off the front foot. Now we play a lot off the back foot and find the gaps. We have got into a different mind-set.” Taylor said: “I think Williamson has batted very well during the entire series. We have played some good cricket.”