Pitch became harder for batting as game progressed: Guptill

Auckland: Senior New Zealand opener Martin Guptill blamed the sluggish Eden Park track for their flop show with the bat in an absolute surrender to the Indian side in the second T20 International on Sunday. Guptill scored a quickfire 33 off 20 balls but Indian bowlers kept a tight leash on the Black Cap restricting them for 132 and then reaching the target in only 17.3 overs. "We certainly felt that the pitch was getting slower and slower when we were batting. It got harder and harder to bat as the game progressed. We needed one of the top three-four to bat majority of the innings. We weren't able to get partnerships to add up the total," Guptill told reporters after his team lost second successive T20 International. The surface was slower compared to the first game where New Zealand scored 203. "It was a slightly different wicket. Earlier on, it was coming nicely. The target was not a tough one to chase down admitted Guptill.