India vs New Zealand | We have to give credit to New Zealand for their bowling, says Rohit Sharma

The Indian cricket team suffered their first loss in the ongoing New Zealand series, albeit in the absence of key players such as MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, as they succumbed to a rather embarrassing eight-wicket loss on Thursday. Having already won the series, India entered the fourth ODI at Seddon Park with a three-nil lead against Kane Williamson & Co.

"Thing were looking good at that stage. It was about applying ourselves. Once you get in, things will start to look easier. We played some bad shots as well. It's always challenging when the ball is swinging. Everyone knows what went wrong. There will be times when it swings and we need to deal with it. When you are playing for your country, you try to give your best. Good teams usually keep ticking the boxes and today we didn't tick the right boxes," Sharma said at a post-match conference.

"We didn't expect the surface to behave like this. Nice to restrict them to a 90-odd total. It stood up a little bit and nipped a bit. It spun as well. One of those days, things went well. Credit to the areas guys bowled. We always wanted early wickets, to be able to that was a real step at the right direction. It was swinging, that was a weapon we wanted to use. Because we were able to put India under pressure, we were able to pick regular wickets.

"We exploited really well and chased down nicely as well. We always play to win and today was an outstanding performance. We'll be on a different surface at Wellington. Cricket will be different. Great to have a win today, Against a team like India, it's going to be a strong challenge. He (Henry Nicholls) played beautifully, it was challenging. Guptill whacked it around and other guys chipped in as well. An opportunity to play against best team in the world - great opportunity to improve," the New Zealand captain added.