"We were a little bit too high in numbers based on the surface" - New Zealand coach after a dismal batting show against Bangladesh in the first T20I

New Zealand makeshift coach Glenn Pocknall intends to get the players to bounce back swiftly from a heavy loss in the first T20I against Bangladesh. Bangladesh bundled out New Zealand for a mere 60 in Dhaka on Wednesday to win the match by 7 wickets.

Similar to the Australian side that visited Bangladesh last month, New Zealand also struggled on slow wickets. Only skipper Tom Latham and Henry Nicholls reached double figures in a woeful batting display after winning the toss. Moreover, Kiwi's spinners were not as effective as the hosts'.

Glenn Pocknall admitted New Zealand got a bit intimidated by the numbers on the pitch before the game. He feels 25 runs more would have made things interesting and the challenge in the next game is to reach three figures.

"I think we were a little bit too high in terms of those numbers based on the surface for tonight. We probably didn’t quite assess the conditions as well as we thought. It showed it was very challenging for both us and Bangladesh. Look, I think if we’d got 25 more runs, it would have been a very interesting, tight finish. So that’s the challenge for two days' time – how can we get to 100."

All over at Mirpur!Bangladesh register a convincing seven-wicket win with five overs to spare and go 1-0 up in the T20I series 👏#BANvNZ | https://t.co/4Bvg9arZLr pic.twitter.com/BH9d6hRwDE

— ICC (@ICC) September 1, 2021

New Zealand batters have to figure out how to approach these wickets: Glenn Pocknall

Glenn Pocknall. (Image Credits: Twitter)

Glenn Pocknall further said their conversations will be based on how the batters can adapt to these conditions. He believes the tourists looked slightly on track during the partnership between Latham and Nicholls. The Kiwis will look to build on that.

"We’ll have some really good conversations, with the batters especially around what is the best way to bat on those types of wickets. Which we have previously, but now we have experience out in the middle, and you can’t beat that."

"Losing four wickets for not many runs is always going to be a challenge in any form of cricket, especially this. We came back really well from that with a good little partnership between Tom Latham and Henry Nicholls [who both top-scored with 18], and I think we’ll take a lot from that performance and the way they batted."

Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan accepted after winning the man-of-the-match award that the pitches were more challenging than the previous series. The second T20I will occur on Thursday in Dhaka.