IND vs NZ 2026: ‘Our fielding was not up to the mark’ – Shubman Gill reflects on dropped chances in ODI series

Indian ODI captain Shubman Gill admitted that the Men in Blue were below par in the field during the home ODI series against New Zealand. He stressed the need for significant improvement in this department as India began shaping their plans for the 2027 ODI World Cup.

New Zealand defeated India by 41 runs in the third and deciding ODI at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on Sunday, January 18. The victory helped the Black Caps script history by registering their first-ever bilateral ODI series win on Indian soil. Batting first, New Zealand posted a commanding 337/8 before restricting India to 296 in the run chase.

Gill acknowledged that New Zealand outperformed India in all three facets of the game. While reflecting on the series loss, he singled out fielding as one of the most disappointing aspects of India’s performance, admitting that the lapses in the field proved costly and played a major role in the defeat.

“Our fielding in this series was not up to the mark. We dropped some catches at some crucial turn of events in the game. It’s not easy on wickets like these. Bowlers try to create chances and no one drops a catch intentionally, but that’s the one aspect that we really have to get better at,” said Gill in the presentation.

Daryl Mitchell proved to be a major thorn in India’s side, producing a superb 137 off 131 balls in the decider. Gill revealed that India had specific plans in place for the New Zealand middle-order batter but admitted that Mitchell was simply too good on the day. Mitchell’s outstanding knock earned him the Player of the Match award in Indore, and his consistent run-scoring across the series saw him named Player of the Series after amassing 352 runs in three innings.

“He’s batting brilliantly. We do make plans, but sometimes a batter is in such good form, you are not able to execute plans,” said Gill.