Iyer Says India Were Sloppy in the Field After Hamilton Defeat Despite 3-2 Series Win

India captain Shreyas Iyer has said his side were sloppy with their bowling and fielding in the Hamilton finale, even though India won the five-match T20I series 3-2 against New Zealand.

Iyer said: 'We still could have been better with our bowling and fielding.

We were a bit sloppy.' Iyer said India lost the momentum they had built through his own 50 and Ishan Kishan's 61, with both batters falling in back-to-back overs in the middle of the innings, leaving the new batters under pressure as India finished on 191 for 8.

He pointed to fielding as the area that most needs work, after two costly misses in the chase: Naman Dhir dropped Tim Seifert when he had scored just 13, and Sanju Samson could not hold a sharp edge off Glenn Phillips in the 15th over.

Seifert went on to make 93 and Phillips finished unbeaten on 65 as New Zealand chased 192 to win by seven wickets with 12 balls to spare.

Iyer still called the tour a great learning curve, saying that playing on different grounds in unfamiliar conditions overseas was valuable experience.

It was India's first series win in a SENA country under his captaincy, after his tenure began with defeats in Ireland and England.

India won the first three matches to seal the series before losing the last two, and the focus now moves to the one-day series, which begins on 4 November.