Blackcaps captain Kane Williamson put the 4-1 one-day international series defeat to India down to the visitors' bowling performance throughout the series, continually putting New Zealand "under a lot of pressure".
India won the fifth and final ODI by 35 runs in Wellington, when the Blackcaps were unable to chase down 253.
India were struggling at 18/4, before Ambati Rayudu blasted 90 off 113 balls to put the second-ranked side in a much better position.
But once again, the Blackcaps were unable to build consistent partnerships, with Tom Latham (37) Williamson (39) and Jimmy Neesham (44) the only batsmen to score more than 30 runs.
Eventually, the Blackcaps were bowled out for 217 in the 45th over, as India claimed a mostly one-sided series win. Their only real blemish was their woeful game-four performance, when they were bowled out for 92.
"We knew that the Indian bowling attack would maximise what they might be able to get out of it, as they've done in the series," said Williamson.
"We knew it'd be a challenge, but saying that, when it is 250, there isn't the scoreboard pressure, so if we're able to get partnerships, then we could take the game deep.
We were confident of being able to chase it down.
"Throughout this series, India were far better at that than us and as a bowling unit, they were superb.
"They were able to pick up wickets at key moments, which made life a little bit difficult in that chase.
"To be honest, over these five games, we've been put under pressure a lot and it obviously challenges decision-making. We're on the wrong side of the results 4-1, which India fully deserve."
Across the five games, India's bowlers took 40 wickets compared to New Zealand's 27 - nearly half the Blackcaps haul came from Trent Boult, who finished the series with 12.
One costly moment that proved costly during the Blackcaps chase was the dismissal of Ross Taylor in the 11th over, when the hosts were 38/2
Taylor (one) was given out leg-before-wicket and he had the chance to appeal, but decided not too. Replays showed that if he had appealed, the umpire's decision would have been overturned, as the ball was going over the middle stump by some distance.
"I heard about that not long after I got out, which is extremely frustrating," said Williamson. "We had a conversation and Ross has been batting absolutely beautifully, so it breaks your heart when you realise you make a mistake like that through communication.
"He walked past me and asked, 'what do you reckon', and 'maybe it's too high' and 'maybe it's umpire's call', and unfortunately it's one of those things that we move on [from]."
The Blackcaps now turn their attention to the three-game T20 series, which gets underway on Wednesday at Wellington's Westpac Stadium.
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