The . The teams met at Eden Park in Auckland for the clash, and the game saw the Black Caps bat first and post a total of 259 runs in the first innings after an exceptional performance with the bat.
Chasing down the target, India was limited to a score of 172, as the side lost their first game in the series. It is worth noting that many eyes were set upon star batter Abhishek Sharma. The star batter was exceptional for India in the third T20I, where he scored 113 runs in 38 deliveries, but was unable to replicate his performance in the fourth game.
Speaking on the same, former India cricketer Irfan Pathan took centre stage and heaped praise on New Zealand and the planning that they did to dismiss Abhishek Sharma in the fourth T20I.
“The plan against Abhishek Sharma is to avoid bowling a consistent length, and it is an effective strategy. New Zealand’s bowlers were following that approach and were not allowing him to free his arms by repeatedly bowling outside off stump, which had been one of their major mistakes in the previous matches. This time, they avoided that mistake. They also bowled at his pads, kept changing their lengths and used cross-seam deliveries,” Irfan Pathan said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Pathan opened up on India’s potential playing XI in the fifth T20I
The Men in Blue will be gearing up for the fifth T20I. The teams will meet in Hamilton for the clash on November 1, and ahead of the game, Irfan Pathan opined that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi should get a chance in the playing XI once more.
“Can we expect to see changes in India’s playing XI for the next match? Absolutely. India should make changes now that they have already won the series. Vaibhav should also get an opportunity, along with the other players who haven’t featured in the series so far. Even if India loses that match, that’s okay. However, I would hope that the series scoreline doesn’t end at 3-2. A 4-1 result would look much better,” Pathan said.