IND vs NZ: "Got Nothing To Lose Here" - Mitchell Santner Discusses His Perspective During His Spectacular Hyderabad Performance With Michael Bracewell

Mitchell Santner, a bowling all-arounder for New Zealand, claimed that the team maintained a “nothing to lose” attitude throughout their incredible comeback against India in the first ODI on January 18 in Hyderabad. Santner claimed he was content to stomp all over it and let Michael Bracewell do most of the harm.

After acting captain Tom Latham’s exit left New Zealand requiring an additional 219 runs in 21 overs with only four wickets left, Santner and Bracewell joined forces in the 29th over.

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However, the pair’s 162-run combination provided the visitors a genuine chance to surpass the 350-run goal. India managed to win by just 12 runs, though, by maintaining their composure.

Mitchell Santner Shares His Strategy During Partnership With Michael Bracewell

Mitchell Santner, who scored 57 off 45 balls, said on SENZ Breakfast that if he had stuck with Bracewell till the end, things would have turned out differently (140 off 78). He acknowledged how Bracewell’s powerful blows had placed India under strain, saying:

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“It was – we’ve kind of got nothing to lose here. Just played some shots, keep looking straight and then yeah, Beasty (Bracewell) got a few away and I was happy enough just to knock it around and give him the strike and watch him down the other end.

“I mean, if I was there at the end with Beast it might have been maybe a touch closer but yeah I mean he just kind of kept going and kept hitting it over the rope which was cool to see.”

Bracewell became the second-fastest Indian to reach 100 runs in 57 deliveries. He reached the three-figure mark by hitting a six off Mohammed Shami’s bowling over long-on. The southpaw smashed a six on the first ball of the last over, but died on the second as the visitors were dismissed for 337 with 20 needed off the remaining over.

Mitchell Santner Enjoyed Playing In Front Of A Huge Crowd

Santner stated that he loved batting in front of a rowdy crowd in Hyderabad and pointed out how different the conditions there are from those in Pakistan. Added him:

“Those kinds of low, slow wickets in Pakistan, I kind of wish they were the same here but it was pretty flat and had good pace and good bounce. Obviously, in the thick of it with 50,000 people on top of you it was pretty loud but yeah, it’s always enjoyable playing here in front of this many people.

“They just love it, it was incredibly loud and you kind of forget, coming back, how loud it is. You’ve really got to keep eyes on the skip because you can’t hear anything else.”

When New Zealand and India square off in the second One-Day International in Raipur on Saturday, January 21, they will be looking to even the three-game series.

Also Read: IND vs NZ: Shubman Gill Becomes Fastest Indian, Overall 3rd Fastest To Score 1000 ODI Runs

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