'It was a tricky wicket': Mitchell Santner reacts after New Zealand's 2nd ODI loss to India

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner praised the bowling efforts of both teams after his side suffered a defeat against India in the rain-affected second ODI. He said the pitch offered plenty of assistance to the bowlers and made batting difficult. After India comfortably chased down a target of 143 in the first ODI, the second match saw both batting line-ups struggle. India eventually secured a four-run win under the DLS method after rain interrupted play.

New Zealand struggled against India’s pace trio of Gurnoor Brar, Auqib Nabi and Anshul Kamboj, while India’s batters also found it difficult to deal with Jacob Duffy and Kyle Jamieson.

Speaking during the post-match presentation, Santner said, “It was one of those wickets where the seamers looked pretty challenging on. I 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 there. But 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.”

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Santner also provided an update on Blair Tickner, who was replaced by Matthew Fisher as a concussion substitute after being hit on his helmet while batting.

“He is back at the hotel, so hopefully he pulls up okay. But yeah, he has had a concussion recently, so it is one of those ones you want to give it some time,” he said.

Reflecting further on the pitch and the bowling efforts, Santner added, “It was a tricky wicket. There is no hiding it. I think they (India) bowled really well, especially at the top, challenged us, and obviously, wickets at the start are never ideal. But 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 nice. And the boys bowled really well. On the bowling performance Like we said at Eden Park, it would have been easy for us to just go out there and expect things to happen. But we bowled really well. We started well, and I guess the only way to get into that target was to take wickets at the top. We 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.”

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Gurnoor Brar was India’s standout bowler, taking four wickets for 30 runs as the hosts, who elected to bowl first, dismissed New Zealand for just 134 in 41 overs.

Daryl Mitchell top-scored with a fighting 55 off 104 balls, while Santner contributed 31 off 38 deliveries, including a four and two sixes. The pair also put together an important partnership to help their side recover.

Chasing 135, India had a difficult start and slipped to 47/4. Shubman Gill (0), Rohit Sharma (23) and Virat Kohli (7) failed to make significant contributions.

Shreyas Iyer scored 30 off 46 balls, hitting four boundaries and a six, while KL Rahul remained unbeaten on 26 off 38 deliveries, with two fours and two sixes. However, Duffy and Jamieson picked up three wickets each to leave India struggling at 113/7.

Rain then stopped play, with India four runs ahead of the DLS par score. As a result, the hosts secured a crucial four-run victory.

With inputs from agencies