Conditions on reserve day played spoilsport for India, feels Srikkanth

Former captain K Srikkanth feels overcast conditions on the reserve day worked in New Zealand's favour in their 18-run win over title favourites India in the first semifinal of the World Cup here Wednesday.

The first semifinal of the World Cup spilled over to the reserve day after rains interrupted the match when New Zealand were 211 for five in 46.1 overs after opting to bat on Tuesday.

On the reserve day on Wednesday, New Zealand added 28 more runs to their overnight score to finish at 239 for eight, a total which India found difficult to chase following a top-order collapse under overcast conditions.

And Srikkanth feels it was one of the root causes for India's ouster in an otherwise impressive campaign.

"I think because of the rain and the match getting spilt over to a second day, that was in my opinion one of the root causes for the defeat as far as India is concerned," Srikkanth wrote in his column for the ICC website.

"The rain and the overcast conditions on the second day meant the wicket helped New Zealand more than India as it was ideal for the bowlers."
"The match then went into a second day and we bowled West Indies out and won the game, so these things do happen when the games move over to the next day because of rain."
"His bowling was fantastic, great batting and great fielding, but he cannot do it on his own and unfortunately, he was left with too much to do in the end."