India’s T20I captain Shreyas Iyer has acknowledged that the team needs to improve its bowling and fielding after finishing the five-match series against New Zealand with a 3-2 victory. Despite winning the first three matches, India suffered defeats in the final two encounters, giving the hosts an opportunity to fight back.

Speaking at the post-match presentation after the fifth T20I, Iyer admitted that India’s performance in the field was below expectations. He also described the New Zealand tour as an important learning experience, particularly for players adapting to unfamiliar overseas conditions.

“We still could have been better with our bowling and fielding. We were a bit sloppy, but great learning. Coming overseas, coming to New Zealand, getting to play on such different occasions, different grounds, it was a great learning curve,”Shreyas  Iyer said.

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The series also marked India’s first T20I series victory in a SENA country under Iyer’s captaincy. He had previously experienced consecutive series defeats in Ireland and England.

Reflecting on India’s campaign, the captain credited the team’s performances in the first three matches for establishing control over the series. However, he admitted that the final two games presented an opportunity to experiment and challenge themselves further. “The first three games absolutely set the rhythm for us. And then, coming into the last two games, I feel we were in this position where we wanted to experiment and also challenge ourselves a bit more,” he added.

When asked about the areas requiring improvement, Iyer preferred not to dwell too much on the setbacks, with the upcoming ODI assignment already on the team’s radar. He also mentioned that the players remained in high spirits despite losing the final two T20Is.

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India will now shift their attention to the five-match ODI series against New Zealand, beginning Wednesday, November 4. Iyer, Ishan Kishan and Naman Dhir are among the players expected to feature in the 50-over format. Iyer believes adapting to challenging overseas conditions is an important part of a team’s development and stressed that embracing those challenges will help India improve further.