'Four Catches? Which Ones?' Glenn Phillips Fact-Checks Reporter After India Loss

New Zealand were a bit sloppy in the field at the Hagley Oval in the series opener.© X (Twitter)

New Zealand batter Glenn Phillips had a hilarious exchange with an Indian journalist after the latter questioned him over the number of dropped catches by the hosts during the first T20I in Christchurch on Thursday. One of the best fielding units in world cricket, New Zealand were a bit sloppy in the field at the Hagley Oval in the series opener, allowing India to chase down a record 226. Finn Allen and Lockie Ferguson dropped a catch each to give Shreyas Iyer and Naman Dhir, respectively, crucial reprieves.

Allen dropped Iyer at long-on when the Indian skipper was batting on 28, before his dismissal eventually for a score of 42. Ferguson, on the other hand, dropped Dhir at short third off Nathan Smith, with the edge flying for a four. There were a couple of other close chances which the Kiwis could've made look routine on another day.

However, Phillips was slightly miffed at the reporter counting the half-chances as dropped ones, joking that the counting has to be spot on.

"Four catches? Which ones? Finn's? Locky's? You're counting two that no one even got their hands on? Oh, you're counting those as dropped catches? Yeah, there was one from Mitch and one from Finn, but not really the other two," Phillips responded to a question.

"If we're going to talk about fielding, we've got to count the proper chances, okay? Catches happen and dropped catches happen, but we need to count them correctly. You've got to actually get your hands to the ball," he added.

Phillips hit an unbeaten 40-ball 82 and lifted New Zealand to 225/4, but India got home with two balls to spare, and he was gracious in his assessment of the visitors' herculean batting effort.

"You've also got to give credit to the chasing side for chasing 226. It's always a good chase and for them as well, on slightly bigger boundaries, it's something slightly different to what they're used to. You've got to give credit where credit's due sometimes," Phillips said in the post-match press conference.

(With IANS Inputs)

Featured Video Of The Day

Neeraj Chopra Wins Silver, Yashvir Singh Bronze As India Seal Double Podium In CWG Javelin