Kiwi skipper Vettori blames it on difficult pitch

New Zealand were 106 for seven at one stage before James Franklin and Nathan McCullum ensured their team crossed 200 with a 94-run alliance for the eighth wicket. “We got the worst of the conditions,” said Vettori after his team’s nine-wicket defeat, pointing out that the pitch had become a lot easier when India batted.

“The wicket was incredibly difficult. There was always a little bit of help in the morning and it was seaming all over the place and then it was spinning because it was still damp. We would have loved to have scored more runs but it certainly wasn’t easy. But that’s what happens in cricket. We have to make up for it,” he offered.

The all-rounder had a word of praise for Franklin and McCullum. “Franklin and Nathan played exceptionally well and gave us a chance but in the end (when India batted) the wicket had dried up and played a lot better,” said Vettori after his team was thumped by nine wickets.

Vettori admitted that one of the reasons for his team’s prolonged poor performance was the lack of confidence. “I think most teams rely on confidence and it hasn’t been easy for us because of what’s happened in these last few games. I think it only takes one performance – some guy scoring a hundred or taking five wickets to turn things around. We are bowling as well as we can but we have not had enough scores that are competitive in one-day cricket. We’ve got to hope and we’ve got to believe that it will happen during the last two games,” he remarked.