Chennai: Despite on the driver’s seat for most part of their chase, India failed in their attempt to beat the Kiwis in a T20 match as the hosts lost to New Zealand by one run in a thrilling encounter at M Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday. Blaming the wicket for behaving differently in the second half of the game Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said the wicket slowed down and it was difficult to hit.

“We should have won the match. Virat gave us a good start but the wicket slowed down and it was difficult to hit later. Our worry was how the wicket would behave in the second half. After the 10th or 12th over it got tough. It was good to see the approach in the start of the innings. It's good for us going into the World Cup,” said Dhoni.

Meanwhile winning captain Ross Taylor said that the win would boost the confidence of his side going into the World Cup. “Franklin needs a big pat on the back. Kohli could have taken it away from us. But Southee took a good catch off Franklin and that changed the course of the match. Hopefully we can take this confidence through,” said Taylor.

Meanwhile, Brendon McCullum who was Man of the Match for his stupendous knock that bailed the Kiwis out of a precarious situation and who was later involved with a nasty collision with Kyle Mills in their attempt to take Yuvraj’s catch, said, “My head's ok. Kyle's a bit dazed at the moment. Pitch was really good for 20 overs. A lot of our guys are getting more worldly when it comes to these conditions. The collision was probably my fault."

By Indian Sports News Network