Glenn Phillips praises India’s batting after four-wicket defeat

Christchurch: New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips credited India for their successful chase of 226 in the first T20I but said his side needed to take more wickets in the middle overs and improve its fielding after suffering a four-wicket defeat here on Thursday.

India chased down the target after a high-scoring contest, and Phillips acknowledged that while New Zealand had plans to counter India’s aggressive batting, execution remained key.

“We’ve got all our plans on the drawing board, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to execute them,” Phillips said at the post-match press conference.

Phillips, who top-scored for New Zealand with an unbeaten 82, also credited India’s batting approach and the ability of its players to adapt to the conditions.

“The pitches are fantastic as well. The bounce is probably a little more than they’re used to, and they adjusted really well today,” he said.

Phillips felt New Zealand could have put India under greater pressure by taking more wickets and building pressure through dot balls in the middle overs.

“We maybe take a couple more wickets in the middle or string a few more dots together and we put them under pressure and they don’t chase it, then it obviously looks slightly different as well,” he said.

However, he was quick to acknowledge the quality of India’s batting.

“You’ve also got to give credit to the chasing side for chasing 226. It’s always a good chase,” he said, adding that India had also adapted to playing on slightly bigger boundaries.

Phillips also defended New Zealand’s fielding after being questioned about the impact of dropped catches, insisting that only genuine missed catching opportunities should be counted.

“Catches happen and dropped catches happen, but we need to be counting them properly,” he said.

“You’ve got to get your hands on the ball to catch it.”