Daryl Mitchell lavishes praise on Mitchell Santner after win in the first T20I


image-ldft15gsSantner was the star with the ball [Associated Press]

New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell hails Mitchell Santner as he was all over the Indian batting line-up like a rash at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi on Monday.

In the first match of the three-match T20I series in Ranchi, New Zealand's spinners- Mitchell Santner, Michael Bracewell, and Ish Sodhi mowed down India's batting line-up by sharing 5 wickets between them to hand the home side their first loss of the series. While it was Daryl Mitchell and Devon Conway with the bat, the spin duo of Santner and Bracewell did the damage for New Zealand.

The New Zealand skipper, Santner in particular was the standout performer for the visitors as they managed to defend a target of 177. He bowled a match-turning spell of 2/11 in four overs, including 18 dot balls and bowling a maiden to World no.1 T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav in the final over of power-play.

The Kiwis successfully defended 176/6, restricting India to 155/9.

Speaking after the match, Mitchell, who earned the player of the match award for his brilliant knock (59* off 30 balls), heaped rich praise on his skipper.

"He's one of the best spinners in world cricket with the white ball at the moment. He keeps proving his class. That was a very special spell by him today and put us in a good position to win. He's done it a long time for NZ now - very lucky to have him," said Daryl Mitchell.

New Zealand kicked off the T20I series on a positive note against India winning the first game by 21 runs. They'll be eyeing a series win after humiliation in the ODI series.


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