NEWS
Follow UsImagine taking a fifer and saying that you didn’t bowl your best. But such are the levels that Mitch Santner sets up for himself that just because he gave 59 runs in his ten overs, he’s willing to downplay the second fifer of his 96-match-long ODI career and the first-ever fifer for a Kiwi spinner in World Cup history.
Talking about his and his team’s bowling performance, the Kiwi spinner said, “It skidded a bit under lights but we contained them and bowled well. It was nice tonight, got a lot of purchase, didn’t bowl my best tonight but happy to get the rewards.”
Mitch Santner also contributed with the bat today, scoring 36* off 17 at the fag end of New Zealand’s innings that allowed them to reach to 322. Earlier, Netherlands had bowled well to come back in the game in the death overs, reducing the Kiwis from 238/3 at the end of the 40th over to 262/6 in the 45th over.
However, Santner’s innings, which included 2 sixes and 3 fours, allowed New Zealand to make a comeback and score 60 runs in the last 5 to take their total out of grasp of the Dutch.
“We hung in and picked wickets in partnerships; we managed to take wickets like we did against England to slow them down.”, Santner added in the post-match presentation.
New Zealand play their next two World Cup games in Chennai against Bangladesh and Afghanistan, and if the pitch remains true to its nature, it will turn a lot. Mitch Santner would take a lot of confidence from this performance into those games where his team would rely on him for crucial wickets on a helpful surface.
