5th T20I: Fielding lapses, poor adaptation cost us the series, admits Shreyas Iyer

Southampton, July 11 (IANS) India captain Shreyas Iyer has conceded that a glaring failure to adapt to changing overseas conditions and costly fielding lapses cost his side dearly after England secured a dominant 4-0 series sweep with a 56-run victory in the fifth and final T20I here at The Rose Bowl on Saturday.

The heavy defeat capped off a winless T20I tour for the reigning world champions, who were also dethroned from the top of the ICC Men’s T20I rankings by the hosts. “There’s a lot to take. Especially the conditions, the awareness. It’s all about adaptation, I feel. Conditions kept changing from match to match. As professionals, we need to learn.

“It’s important that we communicate as much as possible about what we could have done better over here. Fielding plays a key role in winning matches. This is one aspect we need to work on,” Iyer said at the post-match presentation.

The Indian captain pointed out that catching errors allowed England skipper Jos Buttler (131) and Harry Brook (95 not) to construct a match-winning 233-run second-wicket stand and propel the hosts to a mammoth 257/3. In reply, India could only make 201/8, despite fifties from Ishan Kishan (56) and Tilak Varma (53).

“Especially on the track, which was a belter, we could’ve probably bluffed. But we also dropped a couple of catches. Could’ve been chasing 220-225. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get that opportunity. We lost (wickets) in clusters.

“I felt their execution in bowling was spot on. And they’ve played a lot of cricket over here. Sensational batting by Buttler, and then Harry came in. We dropped a couple of catches, and that could’ve changed the rhythm of the game,” Iyer added. India will now head into the three-match ODI series against England, starting on July 14 in Birmingham.

–IANS

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