New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson rued his team's poor bowling effort after suffering a heavy loss to the hosts by 53 runs in the first T20I of the three-match series in New Delhi. Williamson's bowlers were treated to a heavy thumping by Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan who managed to help the hosts project a whopping score of 202 runs.
India dominated all departments of the game while restricting the visitors to 149/8. The Kiwis missed a lot of chances as their fielding in Feroz Shah Kotla was quite questionable with Southee dropping two catches which could have changed the entire complexion of the match.
Williamson accepts that the Kiwis have no excuses for their defeat to India and that they could have played better.
"It was a disappointing performance tonight. We were very poor on the field. India played superbly. There are no excuses. We needed to play better. India were outstanding and never gave us a sniff," Williamson said after the match.
"The spinners bowled really well but the bowlers around them went for a lot of runs," he added.
The Kiwi captain also paid tribute to veteran Indian pacer Ashish Nehra, who played his last international match on Wednesday.
Nehra, who belongs to Delhi, bowled an economical spell of 4/29 in his four overs before being carried around the ground on the shoulders of his teammates in an emotional farewell.
"I want to congratulate Ashish on a fantastic career. I have played against him and with him, always a gentleman on and off the field," Williamson said.
India lead the three-match T20I series 1-0. New Zealand will have to bounce back in the 2nd T20I to level the score or India clinch the limited overs format. The second match will be played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot on November 4.
(With IANS Inputs).
