The visage of the two captains during the pre-match media briefing reflected the mood in the New Zealand and Indian camps
The visage of the two captains during the pre-match media briefing reflected the mood in the New Zealand and Indian camps. Hurting from a plethora of ODI defeats, Daniel Vettori seemed exasperated and forlorn, stuttering to explain the 0-3 debacle in the five-match one-day series against India.
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| Zaheer Khan runs in hard during a net session at the Chinnaswamy Stadium ahead of today's fourth ODI against NZ. PIC/Satish Badiger |
In stark contrast, Gautam Gambhir appeared composed and confident, spontaneously narrating his team's success mantra, as fluently as he has been batting crease in the series.
Though the Indian batsmen have dominated in the series, Gambhir lauded the performance of his bowlers. "Whether it was a flat track in Jaipur or it was doing a bit in the last game, our bowlers have done their best in those conditions, playing their part in our winning all the three matches so far."
Vettori admitted that New Zealand had been outclassed in the series. "I think we failed to post enough runs on the board by trying different things. We made some mistakes with our dismissals and also did not put pressure on the Indian batsmen. We are trying to make improvements to give us a bit of performance but the pressure of losing to a good team is always difficult. What we have to do tomorrow is to have to be clear in our minds and perform the roles that we need to do," said Vettori.
No free lunchThe buoyant Indian captain said the youngsters would have to grab their chance when it comes along. "If youngsters get the opportunity, they need to grab it. But, right now we want to field the best amongst the available lot for the match."
India are expected to go in with their best team.
"It is an international game and we need to field a best team in the park. It is not like that we have won the series and we'll take things lightly," he said.
