Mitchell Santner described the Wellington pitch as tricky after New Zealand lost the second ODI against India by four runsHe also explained where his side fell short with the bat.
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New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner (Photo: AFP)
New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner admitted that batting was difficult on the Wellington pitch after his team suffered a four-run defeat against India in the second ODISantner praised the bowling efforts from both sides but also felt that his team could have managed a better total despite the challenging conditions.
India won the rain-affected contest through the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method and took a 2-0 lead in the five-match seriesNew Zealand struggled against India’s pace attack and were bowled out for just 134 runs in 41 overs.
Speaking after the match, Santner described the surface as difficult for batting and said the Indian bowlers made full use of the conditions.
Mitchell Santner Admits New Zealand Fell Short With The Bat
New Zealand had a tough time against India’s fast bowlers, who kept picking up wickets at regular intervalsGurnoor Brar led the attack with four wickets, while Auqib Nabi, Anshul Kamboj and Axar Patel claimed two wickets each.
Daryl Mitchell was the only New Zealand batter to score a half-century, making 55 runs from 104 ballsSantner also contributed 31 runs, and the pair added 59 runs for the sixth wicket to give their team some hope.
However, the New Zealand captain felt that his side needed a few more runs on the board to put India under greater pressure.
“It was one of those wickets where the seamers looked pretty challenging onI know Axar bowled quite nicely, but the Indian quicks were in and around it as well, and they all bowled pretty well[Lessons from the match] As a batting unit, we know it was going to be a tricky surface.
But even if there was a potential way of scraping to 160 or 180, we could have gone from thereBut yeah, I think they bowled well as well, and obviously, with the weather around, it is always going to be a bit tough to start, and they exploited it very well,” Santner said.
Santner Praises India’s Bowling Attack
The New Zealand skipper also acknowledged that India’s bowlers made life difficult for his batters right from the startEarly wickets put the hosts on the back foot, and they never managed to build a strong partnership at the top of the order.
“It was a tricky wicketThere is no hiding itI think they (India) bowled really well, especially at the top, challenged us, and obviously, wickets at the start are never idealBut I think we were still probably a little bit under at the halfway stage, knowing that there was still a little bit in it, which was niceAnd the boys bowled really well,” he added.
Mitchell Santner Backs New Zealand Bowlers Despite Defeat
New Zealand’s bowlers also made India work hard for the targetJacob Duffy and Kyle Jamieson picked up three wickets each as the visitors slipped to 113/7 in 26 overs.
Santner praised his bowling unit for taking early wickets and keeping the pressure on India’s batters.
“Like we said at Eden Park, it would have been easy for us to just go out there and expect things to happenBut we bowled really wellWe started well, and I guess the only way to get into that target was to take wickets at the topWe managed to do that, and then I think the guys coming back in, spell after spell, managed to get the breakthroughs throughout, which is key in ODI cricket,” Santner remarked.
Rain eventually stopped play, with India four runs ahead of the DLS par scoreThe visitors secured a four-run victory and moved 2-0 ahead in the seriesThe third ODI will be played in Hamilton on November 10.
