Ross Taylor felt the Kiwis were 10-15 runs short despite posting a mammoth 203/5.
New Zealand veteran Ross Taylor admitted that his team's bowling unit left a lot to be desired against a rampaging Indian batting line-up as the hosts went down by six wickets in the first T20I in Auckland this Friday (January 24).
Half-centuries from opener Colin Munro, skipper Kane Williamson and Taylor himself propelled the Kiwis to a massive 203/5 in the first half.
But that wasn't good enough as no one from the weakened bowling department, missing experienced pacers like Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson, finished with an economy rate of less than nine. All of them looked well short of answers when opposition captain Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer went about their business with the bat.
Read Also: "Loving it", KL Rahul says he relishes the dual responsibility
"It is hard to tell at Eden Park (what the ideal score is). In the last three overs, India bowled well and we didn't get a big over. We still did get 100 in the last 10 overs to put pressure on them but it's always hard to gauge," Taylor told reporters after the game.
"We bowled well but sometimes have to give credit to how batsmen are. In the T20s you have to learn quickly and we have to adapt. Our bowlers will have to look at them and at the same time their batsmen are a class line-up all the way through."
"The way we attack them in the next game will be crucial. How we attack them and how we do that on Sunday (January 26 in the second T20I)," he added.
"A lot of times when you play at Eden Park wind is a factor and you are able to attack from both ends. It was hard to know what a good total is. They won with an over to spare so we were definitely 10-15 runs short," Taylor said.
"What they did better as we lost a couple of wickets in crucial stages and the new batsmen were not able to get the momentum or rotate strike."
"In India's batting, we were not able to get those quick dots and get the rate up to put them under pressure at 10-11 (per over). We were stuck at nine and a half for a long time (and couldn't restrict them) and on Eden Park batsmen always feel comfortable."
Taylor reserved special praise for Bumrah. "He has been a class bowler for a long time and one of the best death bowlers going around," he said. "He has a potent slow ball, and that extra pace, so you have to adapt to both the slower and quicker ball."
"He showed us what to expect and we need to learn quickly and play their bowlers slightly better."
Adjusting quickly to short boundary dimensions, like at Eden Park, makes a big difference in New Zealand. "You just cannot be predictable with both bat and ball, and am not sure, what our extras count is," Taylor said. "You can either bowl too short or too full we know that the short boundaries are very short so you cannot be predictable."
"On a good wicket, you can clear the boundaries with ease. Eden Park definitely adds a new dimension and what we have learnt is that in two games in a row it slows up a little bit."
"We just have to wait and see, and adapt, if there will be any dew. Eden Park is not the easiest ground to field with such low lights."
(Inputs from PTI)