"It Was A Great Game"- Mitchell Santner After Winning 1st T20I Match Against India

New Zealand Cricket Team won the 1st T20I match against India by runs. The Men in Blue were rocky early as they lost 3 wickets for 33 runs in the power-play overs in a challenging score target of 177. The Black Caps would be mightily pleased with their performance as they registered their first win on the India tour.

It was a collective effort from the bowlers who they hunted in a pack. The openers Ishan Kishan & Shubman Gill would be dejected as they couldn’t lay the foundation for the rest of the batters. The all-rounder Washington Sundar smashed a half-century at the later part of the innings which wasn’t enough.

New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner would be booming with confidence as not many gave them a chance. The left-arm spinner was the pick of the bowlers as he took 2 wickets in his 4 overs spell & gave away 11 runs. The shrewd spinner bowled a maiden as well which is priceless in T20I cricket.

New Zealand would be well aware of the fact that India would come back stronger. The visitors would be hoping that the likes of Glenn Phillips hit form as the batter hasn’t been able to perform according to his credentials. New Zealand have made a statement that they are not here to just participate.

It was a great game- Mitchell Santner

During post match presentation, Mitchell Santner was asked about the match. “It was a bit of a shock for everyone involved, how much it kinda spun in the second innings. But it was a great game and it was pretty tight at the end, we saw a lot of runs in the ODI series and it was nice to see the ball spin a bit more. I don’t think we were ever safe, 170-odd was nice with Daryl hitting a couple over and he batted extremely well, we knew we had a sniff with 180.” said Mitchell Santner.

We knew it was spinning in the powerplay- Mitchell Santner

“It was nice to chip some wickets in the powerplay and we had troubled with that in the ODIs. At the toss we were going to bowl because we know chasing is so good over here and especially with the dew. That’s always the challenge (on captain using himself). You don’t want to be seen doing the easy overs and stuff like that. We knew it was spinning in the powerplay and it was nice to chip one out.” he added.

Also Read: IND vs NZ: Watch – MS Dhoni Waves To Fans In Ranchi As Crowd Chant “Dhoni Dhoni” During 1st T20I