‘The monkey’s still on my back’: Tim Seifert regrets missing century, celebrates Glenn Phillips’ stunning form against India

New Zealand’s Tim Seifert (AP/PTI Photo) Tim Seifert came agonizingly close to ending his wait for a maiden international century when he fell seven runs short in New Zealand’s seventh-wicket win over India at Seddon Park on Sunday. But while the editorial was disappointed to miss out on the milestone, he was happier that New Zealand wrapped up the series with a win, even if their late revival came too late to prevent India from taking the series 3-2.Seifert, who endured a difficult run with four consecutive single-figure scores, produced a stunning turnaround in the final match, smashing 93 off just 50 deliveries. He was dismissed for 13 before making India pay with an aggressive innings that put New Zealand on a firm course to post 192 in just 18 overs.However, his hopes of a maiden international hundred ended when he played a back-of-a-length delivery from Nitish Kumar Reddy onto his stumps, leaving him seven short of the landmark.Speaking after the match, Seifert joked that the wait for his first international century continued to weigh on him.“No, look, the main thing is to win. But at the same time, you know, the monkey’s still on my back for getting my first international 100. So look, you’re still a bit devastated. And I think my shoulders and back are a bit heavier too,” he joked.“But no, I think the main thing is to win. And that’s great.“But at the end of the day, you’ve got to get over the line sometimes, especially because I haven’t gotten one yet. So yeah, hopefully it won’t be another 95 games before you get that opportunity. But we’ll see what happens,” Seifert added.

Seifert explains New Zealand’s late turnaround

The opener said adapting to different conditions and learning from mistakes in earlier matches was crucial to New Zealand’s improved performances towards the end of the series.“Yeah, look, I think you have to be true to yourself. You know, you can fall a little bit in T20 cricket. But you know, you still have to be hard on yourself to play quality shots, high percentage shots for you.”“Yeah, you want to put pressure on the bowler. But you know, sometimes you can get a little ahead of yourself and try to go too hard. I think you still have to adjust to the wicket you’re playing at.”“So you’re playing in India, you’re playing in New Zealand, two completely different wickets. So no matter where you’re playing in the world, you’ve just got to adapt to what you’re playing on. Some will find it easier to play shots earlier, some may have to wait until the end of the over.New Zealand lost the first three matches before registering victories in the last two. Seifert felt the home side were competitive in the opening encounters but failed to capitalize on key moments.“Yeah, I think it was a lesson from the previous games. You know, we were close in Christchurch (1st and 2nd T20Is). It’s just about winning those small margins when the game is on. I think the bowlers, the batsmen have stepped up and adapted to the wickets we’ve been playing on,” he said.“Look, that’s (to win) your main objective at the start of the series. But if you look back at the series, I think we played some good cricket in Christchurch. We just didn’t win the last moments.”He added: “You know, when we left Christchurch we could easily have been 2-0 up or at least 1. So I think, you know, especially those last two games put the nail in the coffin, you know, those last moments that we didn’t quite kill in the first two games.”

‘Hats off to him’: Seifert on Phillips’ record-breaking streak

While Seifert provided the fireworks in the final game, Glenn Phillips was the standout performer throughout the series. The middle-order batsman finished with 341 runs, surpassing Phil Salt’s record of 331 runs for the most runs by a batter in a bilateral T20I series.Phillips’ remarkable run included scores of 82 not out, 70, 17, 107 and an unbeaten 65 in the final match. He also became one of only three batsmen to score four or more half-centuries in a bilateral T20I series.Seifert praised his teammate’s consistency and the way he built innings rather than going after pitchers from the start.“You know, he’s been playing incredibly for New Zealand in all formats lately. And credit to him. I think even for us guys at the top, knowing that, you know, we’re burning that whole balance of our team.”“No matter who’s coming in, you know, we’re just hitting. And look, to top it in a five-game streak, you’ve got to take your hat off to him and say he played well. But the way he went into the inning, he didn’t necessarily come out all guns blazing early on, he got recognized and then picked up his games, yeah, over the course of the game.