New Zealand leg-spinner Ish Sodhi has called for a more aggressive approach against the Indian batsmen in the upcoming matches after the Kiwis lost the opening Twenty-20 International (T20I).

“We put 200 on the board again. If we can look to be more aggressive with the ball that attitude will be great learning from the first game. If we are going to go for runs or miss out on a couple of opportunities for wickets, you only learn after you try it out,” said Sodhi as quoted by PTI on Saturday.

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India on Friday registered a six-wicket victory to go 1-0 up in the five-match series at the Eden Park in Auckland. And Sodhi believes the home team did not put enough pressure on the touring batsmen.

“You have to see how the game is going on. But it differs from batsman to batsman and bowler to bowler. You have to discuss with the captain and the bowling group as well,” Sodhi said.

Though the 27-year-old spinner admitted that it was tough to impose pressure against the world-class Indian batting line-up but said that the bowlers must find a way to make a comeback if they are to remain in contention to win the series.

“They have five or six world-class batsmen in their side and it will always be difficult to contain them at the best of times. Eden Park with its boundary size is a challenge as well,” said Sodhi, who took 2 for 36 on Friday.

Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli shone for team India with the bat in India’s victory. Chasing 204, Rohit Sharma could not do much but KL Rahul (56 off 27) and Virat Kohli (46 off 32) added 99 runs for the second wicket to set the foundation for a successful chase.

To complete the chase, the duo of Iyer and Manish Pandey made a partnership of 72 runs in 34 balls as the former completed the half-century en route to his 58 off 29 deliveries. Pandey played the secondary role and made 14 in 12 balls.

The Kiwi bowlers failed to have any substantial influence on the match as everyone conceded at more than 9 runs an over. Sodhi was the most successful, while Mitchell Santner and Blair Tickner contributed with one wicket each.

(With inputs from PTI)