Christchurch, Oct 24 (PTI) Having watched Tilak Varma start as a No. 3 batter at Mumbai Indians, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner is highly impressed with left-hander’s growing stature as an accomplished finisher, a role he underlined with an unbeaten 51 that guided India to victory in the second T20I.
Santner, who took 4 for 21 in the second game, has shared the Mumbai Indians dressing room with Tilak in the IPL. He recalled how the batter initially operated at No. 3 before adapting to the demands of finishing games.
“When he (Tilak) first started, he was batting three. And it’s a slightly different role. So I guess the middle order role depends on how you operate in the middle and in the death phase. I’ve seen it for a couple of years now at Mumbai. He’s very good,” Santner said after New Zealand’s defeat.
The New Zealand skipper also praised his other IPL colleague Naman Dhir for his fearless approach and lauded Nitish Kumar Reddy for his contribution in the closing stages of India’s chase.
“And same with Naman Dhir. I think the way he’s come in and just looks so free from the start. Tilak took his time a little bit today, but managed the chase very well with Reddy at the end. If you can finish off games as a finisher, you’re doing a pretty good job. So, I think it was a great knock from those last three, especially tonight,” he added.
Despite returning impressive bowling figures, Santner felt New Zealand had let the contest slip through their hands at crucial moments in the field. He pointed to dropped catches and missed opportunities during the latter part of India’s chase, stressing that the two teams were evenly matched in terms of their overall skills.
“If you look at the skills of both teams, it’s been very close and it’s come down to some small moments in the field. I think especially us, the back end of that chase tonight. I think we’re in a very good position, a couple of drop catches, missed fields. And it’s the winning or losing of the game.”
Santner maintained that New Zealand had played good cricket in both matches but needed to capitalise on key moments, with no-balls and dropped catches capable of changing the outcome of a T20 contest.
“From a skills perspective, we’ve been playing some very good cricket. It’s just some small moments where, if you seize those moments, we could have easily been, I guess, 2-0 up as well.”
The skipper said the team would review its performance without dwelling too much on the missed chances. New Zealand are set to move to Wellington for the next match, where windy conditions could once again make fielding difficult.
“Again, I think it’s the result. But again, we’ll reflect on tonight. There was a lot of good stuff again, as there was in the first game. And there’s some small stuff that I wouldn’t say let us down, but it can change games quickly.” PTI KHS KHS ATK
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