"India's batting was pathetic" - Former Pakistan spinner on Men in Blue's 21-run loss to New Zealand in 1st T20I

Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria has criticized Team India's batters for their underwhelming performance in the first T20I of their three-match series against New Zealand in Ranchi on Friday, January 27.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaneria labeled the Men in Blue's batting as 'pathetic'. He pointed out that trying to play against the turn caused the undoing for most of the batters.

He suggested that the batters should have looked to counter the New Zealand spinners by hitting them over the cover region.

Kaneria explained:

"India's batting was pathetic. Is this how you bat? How can they play in such a fashion on a wicket like this and in their home conditions? Nobody tried to hit the ball towards the extra cover, everyone just wanted to target the leg side."

Notably, Hardik Pandya and Co. failed to chase down New Zealand's total of 176, suffering a heartbreaking 21-run loss in the process. Washington Sundar and Suryakumar Yadav were the top performers with the bat for the home team, mustering 50 and 47 runs, respectively.

---

"There was a lack of intent" - Danish Kaneria on India's performance

Danish Kaneria further stated that the Indian players didn't show enough intent in the T20I series opener.

He reckoned that while they had completed a 3-0 clean sweep in the ODI series against New Zealand, the side failed to impress in the 20-over contest. Kaneria emphasized that even the body language of the Hardik Pandya-led side was below average.

The former spinner elaborated:

"India didn't look like the same team that beat New Zealand in the ODI series. There was a lack of intent. The energy levels of the players were not up to the mark. The batters were quite careless. It seemed as if they had gotten into a relaxed mode."

The forthcoming second T20I is a must-win one for the hosts to stay afloat in the three-match series. The contest will take place at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday, January 29.