Wanted to challenge ourselves: Suryakumar Yadav on six-bowler strategy

With the series already in their pocket, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav revealed that the plan to use six specialist bowlers in Wednesday’s fourth T20I against New Zealand was a deliberate one with a clear focus on World Cup preparation rather than the result.

India left out Ishan Kishan due to a niggle and replaced him with an extra bowler in Arshdeep Singh but the plan didn’t work out in terms of the eventual outcome as the hosts lost the contest by 50 runs. Irrespective of the result not going their way, Yadav insisted that the plan was to give game time to all the World Cup-bound players.

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“We purposely played six batters today. We wanted five proper bowlers and to challenge ourselves. For example, if we’re chasing 180 or 200 and we’re two or three down, we want to see how it looks,” Suryakumar said.

“But it’s fine at the end of the day. We also wanted to give game time to all the players who are part of the World Cup squad. Otherwise, we would have gone with different combinations,” he added.

Suryakumar also defended his call of fielding first, although India have often been a dominant force while batting first. “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, it’s good learning.

Suryakumar further acknowledged the impact of dew and praised Shivam Dube’s explosive knock of 65, but rued the lack of support from him at the other end.

“With the heavy dew, I think one or two partnerships here and there, like the way Dube batted, one batter with him would have made a lot of difference at the end of the game. I think we lost by 50 runs, but it’s okay. As I said, one or two partnerships like this in a run-chase like this might make a difference,” he said.

New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner echoed that sentiment, describing the series as ideal preparation for the World Cup, which begins on February 7. Santner led from the front with a three-wicket haul in Vizag.

“There’s no better prep than playing India in India for a World Cup,” Santner said.

“So we’ve got a couple of guys back for the next game, which is nice. But again, it’s about getting our plans right, getting the roles sorted for what we’ve got coming up in the Cup,” he added.

Both sides will now head to Thiruvananthapuram for the fifth and final T20 International on Saturday.