Visakhapatnam, Jan 28 (IANS) New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner praised his side’s aggressive start in the powerplay and said the way a 100-run opening stand gave them a 50-over win over India was something which the hosts had dished out to them in the last three games. The century of the opening stand between Tim Seifert and Devon Conway helped New Zealand make 215/7, before bowling out India for 165 in 18.4 overs.
“It was nice. I think, obviously, the way we started in the powerplay was kind of what India have been doing to us a little bit. Then to get to a decent score, but we knew that at least 200 is never safe against India. I think especially after the last game, you get 150, you don’t want guys to go back into their shell.
“We can’t win the other way, which was nice. The way they took on the bowlers in the powerplay was outstanding and set us up for a decent score. There was a little period in the middle where we lost wickets, but I guess with a start like that, and then obviously finished off by Daryl and Foulkes a little bit, which was nice,” Santner said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
He also felt the win has come at a right time for their World Cup preparation. “We’re trying to think what we’re likely to get. I mean, like I said at the start, there’s no better prep than playing India in India for a World Cup. So we’ve got a couple of guys back for the next game, which is nice.
“But again, it’s about getting our plans right, getting the roles sorted for what we’ve got coming up in the Cup. It looked like it was going to be flat and not spinning. I think it was a little bit tacky at the end, and on the seam it was spinning when you bowled slow.
“So I guess I don’t need a second invitation to bowl slow either. I think partnerships throughout, obviously wickets at the start are crucial, and it makes our job as spinners a little bit easier in the middle,” he said.
Player of the Match Tim Seifert said his intent was to put pressure on India’s bowlers from the outset. “Sometimes you get a bit lucky early on and sometimes the nature of the game, but the intent that we wanted to put on the bowlers early, sometimes you get a couple of top-edges and they go for boundary early.
“Look, he’s (Bumrah) got me with a beauty last game, so sometimes you’ve got to tip your hat, but you’ve just got to make sure that you look to play straight in the right line and then once you get that first ball, I reckon with him, then it’s a bit easier,” he said.
Asked if he altered his approach hugely for this game, Seifert said, “I wouldn’t say a huge amount, to be honest. Sometimes you get some and others you don’t. That’s the nature of T20 cricket, but the intent and putting pressure on the bowlers, that’s the main thing that we want to do.
“No matter where we play, the next game and the World Cup, every wicket’s going to be a bit different. So being able to adapt, but being true to yourself and putting pressure on the bowlers. I think if we look at the wickets, the pitches are going to be anything like this series, they’re going to be high-scoring. So you’ve just got to keep that intent up,” he said.
Fast bowler Matt Henry said the team showed resilience after earlier defeats led them to conceding the series to India. “I think obviously coming here and playing a very good side, to bounce back and continue the good stuff that we’ve been doing. It’s easy after a couple of losses like that to go searching, but I think that shows a lot about the character of this group, to keep competing. That’s what we kind of hang our hat on.
He felt the win came after they assessed and adapted to the conditions quickly. “I think the key is assessing conditions. Obviously, we’ve played on three really good surfaces lately, small grounds and here was no different. Very, very wet conditions as well. So I think for us, it’s actually just about keeping fighting.
“You’re going to have overs where you can get taken for runs, but as long as you keep believing that you can change it by taking wickets, that’s what stems the flow of runs and that’s what we’ve been able to do. So it was really pleasing to watch the guys go about it tonight. It’s good to get some overs under the belt. It’s not nice when you’re sitting on the side, so it’s great to be back.”
–IANS
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