Iyer says pitch shifted from belter to seamer-friendly after 244-run defeat

India skipper Shreyas Iyer blamed a sudden change in the pitch after India were crushed by New Zealand by 244 runs in the fourth ODI at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on November 13, 2026. He accepted the result but said he would take lessons from earlier wins and aim to level the series.

New Zealand posted 333 after being put in by stand-in captain Iyer, and India were then bowled out for 89 in 26.4 overs as pacer Matt Henry finished with figures of 6/27. Iyer, who is captaining India in ODIs for the first time, urged the side to move on and prepare for the next match: "It's important to forget about this one, obviously, analyze what went wrong in terms of bowling and batting. But at the back of the mind it's important that we have also won two games. So a lot of inspiration from that one and see to it that we come with a fresh set of mind," Iyer said.

"A tough one, I guess, to take that. There was a huge difference between the wickets between innings," Iyer said during the post-match presentation, adding that conditions had altered markedly. "But the way the ball was seaming in and out, you couldn't basically decide from inside that this is how I'm going to play."

Matt Henry's six-wicket haul was central to New Zealand's collapse of India's top order, with the pacer "ripping through the top order" as India failed to build a partnership in the chase. The 6/27 returned by Henry left India with no substantial resistance and completed a rapid dismissal in 26.4 overs.

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner praised his team's intent while saying they had left runs on the board and that the bowlers made the difference: "Pretty happy. Didn't get to bowl again, so pretty happy. Young did his thing and we got a good score despite leaving a few out there. I think we were thinking 360, the intent was great. Maybe if we got 20 more each partnership, we could've gotten there but they chipped away with wickets," he said.

The win kept New Zealand's hopes of levelling the series alive. Santner also backed his pace options and reflected on the immediate recovery, saying: "Henry wanted to play today." "Then see what Sunday offers from a pitch and conditions point of view and take it from there."