TOP STORIES

"We wanted to challenge ourselves": Suryakumar Yadav on India’s experiment in 4th T20 against New Zealand

Thursday, 29-Jan-2026, 06:10 AM
News

New Zealand delivered a commanding all-round performance to defeat India by 50 runs in the fourth T20I at Visakhapatnam, registering their first victory of the five-match series. Despite entering the match under huge pressure, New Zealand showed courage with the bat and ball to claim their first win. Meanwhile, India’s decision to experiment with their team combination backfired as they suffered their first defeat in the series. With the five-match series already secured, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav revealed that the team deliberately went into the match with a batter short. India opted to field six specialist batters, including all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who did not bowl during the match.

"We purposely played six batters today. We wanted to have five perfect bowlers and wanted to challenge ourselves. Like, for example, if we're chasing 200 or 180, and we wanted to see if we were two down or three down, how does it look? But then it's fine at the end of the day. And we wanted to play all the players who are part of the World Cup squad. Otherwise, we would have played other ones," Yadav said after the match.

Asked to bat first, New Zealand got off to a flying start following an impressive opening partnership between Tim Seifert and Devon Conway. Seifert scored 62, while Conway made 44 to power New Zealand to 215/7 in 20 overs. Speaking on deciding to chase, Yadav underscored that he wanted the players to challenge themselves. 

"We've been batting really well when we've batted first. So I wanted the guys to take that responsibility if we're chasing 180 or 200, and two wickets or three wickets are down, and see how we bat. So it's a good challenge. Hopefully, if we get an opportunity again, we might chase again. But at the end of the day, good learning," he said.




Tags

More News

News

CSK pacer Khaleel Ahmed ruled out of IPL 2026

14 mins ago

Chennai Super Kings have suffered a crushing blow, with their highly skilful pacer Khaleel Ahmed being ruled out of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 due to a right quadricep injury. Khaleel sustained the injury during the team's match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday. In a release, the franchise confirmed that it will take more than 12 ...


News

Mumbai Indians sign Krish Bhagat as replacement for injured Atharva Ankolekar

39 mins ago

Mumbai Indians have acquired the services of Punjab all-rounder Krish Bhagat, signing him as a replacement for the injured Atharva Ankolekar. He has been signed by Mumbai Indians at his base price of INR 30 lakh. The signing comes after Ankolekar was ruled out of the tournament due to injury.

Bhagat has played for Punjab in seven first-class and nine List...


News

CPL 2026 to begin on August 7

2 hrs ago

The schedule for the 14th edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has been announced, with the tournament scheduled to begin on August 7. Matches will be played across multiple Caribbean nations, including Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, Saint Lucia, St Kitts & Nevis, Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica. Notably, for the first time, matches will be played at Ar...


News

Rubel Hossain retires from international cricket

3 hrs ago

Bangladesh pacer Rubel Hossain has announced his retirement from international cricket, bringing the curtains down on a glittering career. In a social media post, Rubel confirmed his decision to say goodbye to international cricket. He made his last international appearance for Bangladesh back in April 2021 in a T20I against New Zealand in Auckland.

"I am pacer Rubel Hoss...


News

IPL 2026: Pat Cummins cleared to feature for SRH

4 hrs ago

Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins has been cleared to appear for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), with medical assessments confirming that his issue has fully healed, according to Cricket Australia. Fresh scans conducted in Sydney have cleared him to return to bowling without any limitations, bringing a sigh of relief to Sunriser...