IND vs NZ 2024: Nice to contribute to the team, very pleasing for us – Mitchell Santner after match-winning performance

New Zealand’s spinner Mitchell Santner was delighted after their 113-run win in the second Test match against India at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune on Saturday. Santner played an instrumental role in the second Test triumph as he bagged 13 wickets in the match.

The left-arm orthodox spinner returned with impressive figures of 7-53 in the first innings to help New Zealand skittle out India at 156. Subsequently, he backed it up with another impressive spell of 6-104 to help the Kiwis register their maiden Test series win on Indian soil.

Santner replaced Matt Henry in the playing XI and he was able to hit the ground running and make the most of favorable conditions. The 32-year-old from Hamilton bowled with the right pace and landed his deliveries in the right areas to reap rewards. Santner was awarded Player of the Match for his fine bowling show.

Santner said in the post-match presentation, “ Not really (bowled differently in second innings?). Felt a little harder this time. Credit to India for the way they came out. We knew they might fire some shots and that was probably the best way on that wicket. Jaiswal played extremely well but we just tried to hang in there. Hopefully one had their name on it. Great feeling. My side’s a bit sore. Might just be because of a spike in my workloads – 20-odd overs there in a row. I felt it a little bit early on in my spell. I guess in that kind of situation you just want to keep going for the team.”

He added, “Every time I got a wicket it felt a little better. Yeah it’s a bit strange for me (long spells). Nice to contribute to the team. Winning a series over here is very tough as India have shown for a very long time. Obviously very pleasing for us. But we have another game in Mumbai in a few days time – we have to go again. Everytime you take wickets you feel confident. Kind of felt that way in this innings with a few wickets under the belt. Landing the ball in the same spot all the time with little changes in pace – that’s what we try to do as a spin unit.”

The third and final Test match between India and New Zealand will be played at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai from November 1 onwards.