By Admin 
Mitchell Santner Statement After The Win Against India: New Zealand captain and left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner said that his role in T20 International matches is to bowl defensively, create pressure and take wickets and it was satisfying to see the great results of this strategy in the fourth T20 International match played against India in Visakhapatnam. Santner took three wickets for 26 runs in this match. He increased Sanju Samson’s problems by bowling him and then also took the wickets of Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah. New Zealand won this match by 50 runs.
Santner gave statement after the victory against India
Mitchell Santner told reporters after the match, ‘I think my job is to bowl a little defensively and take wickets like this. Sometimes one has to act wisely. Giving six single runs is a good option. We have seen a lot of power hitting and big scores. That’s why I think the role of a spinner in T20 international matches is to create pressure and take wickets. He said, ‘If you are defending a big score then let the run rate increase. If the score is low then the only way to stop these batsmen is to take wickets. So I think it’s all about adapting to the circumstances and understanding the situation.
Santner gave the example of dismissing Hardik Pandya
Santner made his argument more clear by giving the example of dismissing Hardik Pandya, whom he got caught by dodging a flying ball. He said, ‘I have bowled a lot to Hardik in the net sessions of Mumbai Indians and he knows me, I know him. So I think being defensive in that situation was the only way we could win the match because when the Indian team is in rhythm, it is very difficult to stop them.
Santner also said on Ish Sodhi’s fierce washing
Leg spinner Ish Sodhi was badly washed out in this match. Shivam Dubey scored 29 runs in his one over. Santner said in this regard, ‘I think if you bowl the ball to Dubey, Hardik or Rinku, they will play shots on it. You have to keep the possibilities in mind and bowl as per the strategy of the batsmen. He further said, ‘If a batsman is not able to understand the wrist spinner, then you ask the bowler to be a little more aggressive like Kuldeep (Yadav) or (Ravi) Bishnoi. So I think Ish was trying to bowl more aggressively considering the conditions of the game.
Santner praised Shivam Dubey’s innings
However, the New Zealand captain did not shy away from praising Dubey’s innings of 65 runs played in 23 balls. Santner said, ‘I have seen Dubey do this many times and he is an expert in playing long shots, but we knew that he had one batsman less and we just had to get Dubey out. Dubey knew what he had to do and when the spinner was bowling, he knew he had a good chance of scoring runs.