Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was back on the bench for the fourth T20I against New Zealand. He replaced an unfit Ishan Kishan for the second and third games.
A fit-again Kishan made his return to the final XI for the fixture, which meant no place for Sooryavanshi. Apart from Sooryavanshi, the team management also dropped Bhuvneshwar Kumar from the playing XI. Stephen Fleming reacted to Sooryavanshi’s absence and said that “his time will come.”
Speaking on the Sony Sports Network during the fourth T20I, Fleming said: “His time will come, he will be that person, that incumbent. But I think it’s a great message because it’s a really inconsistent game. You’re asking players to go out there and play at a really high level of skill and risk, and if they feel that they’re compromised and they start double-guessing because their place is under threat, then they don’t have that freedom to go out and play right on the edge of their skill level, right on the edge of the limits.”
After managing to score four runs in the second T20I, Sooryavanshi scored a quick 45 off just 19 balls in the third game. He and Abhishek Sharma gave a quick start to India and added 133 runs for the first wicket in only 7.1 overs in the chase to the target of 199.
Ishan Kishan out for duck
Kishan flopped in his comeback game and departed for a three-ball duck in the fourth game. The Indian bowlers struggled and leaked a big total of 259. Glenn Phillips slammed a century while Michael Bracewell scored a quick 65 off 25 balls.
were off to a forgettable start and lost Sanju Samson’s wicket on the second ball of the chase. The wickets continued to tumble and India managed to score 172 at the loss of nine wickets in 20 overs. India are 3-1 ahead in the series. The fifth and final game of the series will be played on Sunday (November 1).