Mt. Maunganui (New Zealand): India have been so consistent in the last five years that the ODI defeats against New Zealand is not worrying, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal said Tuesday. He also played down the rare series-whitewash the Black Caps inflicted on them.
“Overall, if you see it is just the fourth or fifth series loss in the last 4-5 years. The other team are also here to play. You cannot win every match. We have won one series, lost the other, so it is not something too serious to ponder over,” Chahal said at the post match press conference.
The leg-spinner said the youngsters will learn a lot from the experience of playing in New Zealand.
“Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal came into the side, so youngsters got to play outside India. It is not easy to play in New Zealand. But overall if we see, it is just an ODI series. We did win the T20 series 5-0, first time, that’s a positive for us as well,” added Chahal.
Chahal also appreciated the batting efforts of KL Rahul who scored his fourth ODI hundred while Shreyas Iyer also scored a half century.
“You can see the confidence in them. They are 25-26 years old and batting with maturity. They understand the situation well. It is not easy to bat in the middle overs especially when the spinners are bowling. Rahul has also batted up the order at times. So, it shows the maturity that he knows what the team needs,” Chahal pointed out.
Chahal was all praise for the hosts but admitted fielding is a concern for India.
“They (New Zealand) have played quite extraordinarily in this series. So we need to appreciate that. Poor fielding happens at times. Once in 10 series the fielding bug hits you. We have time until the next ODI series. We have seen what the shortcomings and we have enough time to work on it before the next series,” Chahal stated.
Chahal attributed Ravindra Jadeja’s brilliant all-round show as to why he and Kuldeep Yaday have not been able to play a single game together since the World Cup. “Ravindra Jadeja is playing extraordinarily well, whether it is batting or bowling or fielding. So, I play in some game, Kuldeep in the others. The main motive is to do what is best for the team. In Asia Cup all three of us have played together as well. If pitches allow that, maybe all of us will play together again,” admitted Chahal.
Agencies