India had a rare off-day in Visakhapatnam as they went down convincingly to a spirited New Zealand side by 50 runs as the margin of series lead was reduced to 3-1 in India‘s favour with one game remaining. India were just not there one felt and took the game a bit too casually and New Zealand made the Men in Blue pay big time and reminded others what they are made of. India were outplayed in all facets of the game and it is a timely wake-up call for them ahead of the big ICC WC 2026. There were main areas where India were found wanting and we will list three such areas where India lost the match.
Losing the powerplay phase dented India
Each and every phase in a T20 game is important and powerplay is no different as it sets the tone for the team to do well or struggle. In Visakhapatnam, India fell behind in the powerplay with ball in hand and then bat in hand. India opted to chase and saw Tim Seifert take the game away from them in the powerplay. India bowled too many length balls asking to be hit and Seifert was ready for it.
Devon Conway who was with him took his time for 8-9 balls before he too cut loose and complimented Seifert. The duo tore apart whichever Indian bowler came their way and put on 100 for the first wicket in 8.2 overs. More importantly, 71 runs off them came in the first 6 overs of powerplay. That really laid the base for the Kiwis to get 200+. Now in the chase, India lost two early wickets when Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav fell inside 2 overs.
India still recovered a little bit through Sanju Samson and Rinku Singh to take the powerplay score to 53/2 in 6 overs. It was a decent recovery no doubt from 9/2 in 2 overs but India were lagging behind as they were 18 runs behind New Zealand but had lost two additional wickets. This meant that even though India did the middle phase better than Kiwis, they couldn’t go near the target as it was a bridge too far in the end.
With one game to go before the World Cup, India will want and need to improve in this area to fare well in the tournament. It is a one-off day but still issues need to be addressed as well if India desire to defend their crown as these errors will haunt the Men in Blue in the T20 WC 2026.
Little or no support to Shivam Dube seals fate for India
To say India had an off-day will be an understatement as they were off in both batting and bowling. After the bowling conceded 215, India still might have fancied their chances because of the make-up and form of the team as 216 was gettable one felt. But India needed a good start but they got the opposite as Abhishek Sharma got out for a golden duck while captain Suryakumar Yadav made 8.
Sanju Samson got a start and made 24 before being bowled as he looked scratchy in the middle. Rinku Singh played well but out of position but fought hard for his 39 off 30 balls. Hardik Pandya missed out as well as India were 4 down quickly. Amidst all this mayhem, there was one shining light for India and that was the batting of Shivam Dube. Batting at Number 6, Dube came out all guns blazing and single-handedly threatened India as wickets fell at the other end.
Dube’s stroke-play was amazing to say the least and it was a joy to watch but he needed support from the other end which he did not get. Harshit Rana was there but not helping him out. The top order failed for India and Dube was the lone ranger. For New Zealand, Tim Seifert was the star as he and Dube cancelled out each other. But the Kiwis had Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips supporting Seifert’s efforts while India did not have that.
When one is chasing 200+, there has to be big contributions from multiple players as one player alone cannot take the side home single-handedly. There had to be contributions from others which was not the case. So, India has to fix this issue as well going forward. They have the batting to chase anything down but it was not their day last night.
Questionable Tactics of not bowling Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube at all raised eyebrows
India decided to go with an extra bowler as Ishan Kishan with a niggle made way for pure bowler Arshdeep Singh. But what surprised many was that when the main bowlers were getting hit as most of them were, India had options in Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube to come in and take the pressure off the five main bowlers that were playing this game. But to everyone’s surprise, they did not bowl a single over.
The captain Suryakumar Yadav justified the call saying that they purposefully played 5 bowlers and used only them and used one less batter to test themselves. But whatever be the case, the move seemed casual and taking the game for granted which is not acceptable at all. Hardik and Dube could have been used and should have been used to cover up for some expensive figures for say someone like Harshit Rana or Ravi Bishnoi. Both the aforementioned bowlers went for plenty of runs. So, some tactical errors were in view as well.
We know going into the World Cup, India won’t play with this combination and go for normal extra batter and all. But these kinds of decisions should not be made by the team management. It hurts the momentum the side was in as New Zealand will now try to win the last game in Thiruvananthapuram and make it 2-3 which will be great morale booster for them. India needs to guard against complacency.
What Lies Ahead
India and New Zealand are set to face-off in the fifth and final T20I on Saturday 31st January, 2026 at 7 PM IST onwards in Thiruvananthapuram. India will look to finish on a high and win series 4-1 while New Zealand will aim to pull another back to make sure the series ends 2-3. A few boxes to tick for India with the final game to be played in the Road to World Cup 2026.
Let’s see how the 5th game pans out for both teams.
Also Read:Â IND vs NZ: New Zealand Roars Back With An Emphatic Consolation Win