India vs New Zealand 2019, 3rd T20I: 5 major talking points

#2 India didn't use their sixth bowler, again

Khaleel again went for plenty but India didn't use their sixth bowler

For all the three T20Is, India opted to go in with an extra all-rounder at the expense of a specialist batsman. Though Vijay Shankar performed admirably with the bat, he was never called upon to turn his arm over.

In the first T20I, India conceded well in excess of 200. Several of their bowlers took a pounding. Yet, the Indians failed to properly explore the options they had at their disposal.

Even at Hamilton, New Zealand crossed 200 easily. Three of the five bowlers India used went for more than ten runs per over with Bhuvneshwar and Kuldeep being the exceptions. Thus, the decision to not use Vijay Shankar was bewildering.

In the ODIs, India fiddled with their team combination to ensure that Jadhav could be accommodated in order to provide a fail-safe bowling option. Yet, in the T20Is, when they had a back-up bowler, they refused to bring him to the bowling crease.

India has made some questionable calls over the past few months with regards to selection. Though they got the composition of the team right this time, their reluctance to use their resources properly surely cost them in the end.

One would’ve hoped that India had learnt from their mistakes at Wellington. Yet, on Sunday, it became increasingly clear that they simply didn’t.