"A lot of hit me deliveries" - Sanjay Bangar unimpressed with India's bowling performamce against New Zealand in first T20I

Former Indian all-rounder Sanjay Bangar believes the bowling unit gave the New Zealand batters plenty of freebies in the first T20I in Ranchi on Friday, January 27. The former Indian batting coach credited Hardik Pandya for bringing in the spinners to utilize the grip on the surface.

After losing the toss, New Zealand got off to a flying start as Finn Allen and Devon Conway added 43 in 26 deliveries. The hosts hit back with two wickets in the fifth over but Conway hit a brisk half-century to lead his side's counterattack. The 20th over saw Arshdeep Singh concede 27, setting the hosts 178 to win.

Speaking to the host broadcaster mid-innings, Bangar credited Daryl Mitchell, who pounced on India's loose deliveries to stay unbeaten at 59 off 30 deliveries.

"At the start, India were too full, searching for the swing which was not there and then there were a lot of hit-me deliveries. But towards the end, you have to give credit to Daryl Mitchell because some of the shots were brilliant in terms of position."

He continued:

"Credit to Hardik Pandya to bring finger spin that early in the powerplay which allowed Washington Sundar to grip the ball and extract spin from the surface."

The hosts' frontline spinners were magnificent on the night as Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav finished with figures of 8-0-42-3, while Deepak Hooda also delivered two overs for 14 runs. Strike bowler Arshdeep Singh finished with figures of 4-0-51-1.

India fall short by 21 runs to concede a 1-0 lead in the three-game series

New Zealand celebrate a dismissal. (Credits: Twitter)

While Pandya won the toss and fielded first while hoping for the dew to assist the home side, the pitch got difficult to bat on and 178 proved too much in the end. India lost three wickets inside the powerplay as none of their top three batters reached double figures, leaving the middle order to carry the side.

Number one T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav combined with the skipper to stitch together a 69-run partnership, leading their recovery. However, the Men in Blue came crashing down after both batters perished. Washington Sundar struck some lusty blows and brought up his half-century off 25 balls.

Nevertheless, it was New Zealand who celebrated their first win of the tour and left the opposition needing to win the remaining two games in the series. The two sides will travel to Lucknow for the second T20I on Sunday (January 29).