Mills: We were pretty poor in all three facets
Captain Kyle Mills admitted New Zealand were outdone in all departments, after Thursday's eight-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka in the second and final Twenty20 International in Pallekele.
Captain Kyle Mills admitted New Zealand were outdone in all departments, after Thursday's eight-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka in the second and final Twenty20 International in Pallekele.
The Black Caps were inadequate with the bat, reaching a substandard total of 142 for seven on the back of wicketkeepeer-batsman Luke Ronchi's rearguard 34 and a closing cameo of 26 from all-rounder Nathan McCullum.
The visiting bowlers, then, could not prevent quickfire half-centuries from opener Tillakaratne Dilshan and Man of the Match Kusal Perera from ensuring Sri Lanka victory with all of 13 deliveries to spare.
"In all the three facets of the game we were pretty poor. We didn't get any partnerships and we fielded poorly," said Mills, who captained the side in the absence of the injured Kane Williamson and rested Brendon McCullum.
"Some of the youngsters performed well on these two tours, against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, so we are pretty happy with that. It has given us a bit of confidence."
The Kiwis' next assignment will be a three-Test tour against the West Indies, the first of which will get underway at the University Oval in Dunedin on 3 December. The Sri Lankans, meanwhile, will begin preparations for two T20Is and five ODIs against Pakistan.
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