Vadodara, Dec 4: Putting up a brave front New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori on Saturday said that his Indian counterpart Gautam Gambhir took the game away after his team were bundled out for 224 in the third One Day International of the five-match series.

Vettori admitted that his top-order has been disappointing and in sub-continent conditions it is important that the top four batsmen get runs in an ODI match.

Excerpts:

On India winning the toss

Well it was a good toss to win as the wicket was a bit damp and it swung and spun. So I think we were fortunate to post a total of 225 thanks to partnerships from McCullum [Nathan] and Franklin [James] but as the wicket dried up it was never going to be enough.

On New Zealand’s total of 224 runs

I think it was really tough early on. We thought 240, or may be even 250, would have been a bit more challenging total for India. The wicket got better and better. Also, India played exceptionally well. I think Gambhir [Gautam] was again amazing at the top of the order and really took the game away from us.

On team’s strategy

We have done that in the first two games but unfortunately results didn’t come our way. For us I think it was simple to let the wicket do the talking. But once again we bowled poorly to Gambhir [Gautam] and he made us hurt.

On whether he feels that now there is no pressure on New Zealand

I don’t think so that the pressure is off our backs. We still, I think, have got to keep fighting. There is no point in giving up. We have got to bounce back. We still have got some very good players in this team and it is time to show that.

On his top-order

I think especially in ODI cricket in the sub-continent your top-order needs to stand up. We are hoping that in the next couple of games we will do that.