Lack of Partnership cost us the game- Rohit Sharma

Wellington, Feb 6: After suffering the biggest loss in terms of runs by New Zealand, Indian captain Rohit Sharma said that the lack of the big partnership cost them the match. He admitted that the Indian team was outplayed in all the three departments.

After a tremendous show in the recently concluded ODI series against the Kiwis, which India won by 4-1, the men in blue failed to click both with the bat and the ball on Wednesday as they were bundled out for 139 runs, thanks to an all-around effort by the hosts.

After the match in presentation ceremony, Rohit said, "It was a tough game. We were outplayed in all three departments. We didn't start well and we knew that 200 wasn't going to be an easy chase although the grounds are small here." "But we kept losing wickets and that threw us off. We have chased such targets in the past and that is why we played with eight batsmen, but we didn't have small partnerships and that made it tough while chasing such a big target," he added. He was hopeful that the team will perform much better in upcoming matches.

Kiwi skipper praised his team and said"fantastic performance all around, everyone rose and it was one of those complete performances that you search for," Williamson said adding: "The top-order were superb and we built partnerships that helped us. Seifert, Munro was outstanding."