Santner Blames Early Extras as India Chase 226 in Christchurch T20I

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner has pointed to a ragged new-ball burst as the main reason his side lost the opening T20I to India at Hagley Oval. India chased down 226 with four wickets in hand and two balls to spare. It was a high-scoring game, and he felt the hosts gave away too much in the first six overs.

India's powerplay finished at 94 for 1. New Zealand's quicks sent down a string of wides in that phase. By the end of the chase the hosts had conceded 17 extras, 16 of them wides. Santner said the extras at the start were the obvious thing to fix. He also mentioned a few missed chances in the field and some closing overs that got away from them. He added that Hagley Oval is not an easy ground to catch on.

He was not entirely downbeat. He thought his bowlers did well to squeeze India through the middle overs, and he described the match as one that could have gone either way. His other point was that the powerplay will always be a challenge against this Indian line-up. In his view the aim should be to hold India to something like 80 in that phase rather than 100.

The contest began with New Zealand batting first. Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to field. Glenn Phillips then made an unbeaten 82 off 40 balls, with eight fours and three sixes. He and Bevon Jacobs added 73 for the fourth wicket, and Jacobs made 31 off 16. New Zealand took 67 runs from the last five overs to reach 225 for 4. Iyer's decision looked doubtful at that stage.

India's reply started at a very fast pace. Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma put on 93 for the first wicket inside the powerplay. Samson reached fifty before the six overs were up and finished with 67 off 33 balls, including eight fours and four sixes. Santner ended his innings in the ninth over, when Samson was bowled off a drag-down.

That was when New Zealand's spinners got the contest back. Michael Bracewell and Santner took two wickets each, and India slid from 115 for 1 to 122 for 4. Tilak Varma, promoted to No. 3, made only 6 off 11 balls before holing out. Ishan Kishan fell for 1 to Santner. Bracewell finished with 2 for 37 and Santner with 2 for 39.

Iyer steadied the chase with 42 off 28 balls, and Axar Patel hit a quick 24. Axar's dismissal and Iyer's, caught by Santner off Milne, left India needing 48 off the last 24 balls. Naman Dhir then settled the match. He hit an unbeaten 42 off 15 balls, a strike rate of 280. Nitish Kumar Reddy stayed with him, finishing on 23 not out. With eight needed from the last over, Dhir lifted Matt Henry over mid-off for four off the first ball. He hit a six off the fourth, and Reddy finished the job with a boundary. Dhir was named Player of the Match.

Dew played a part, and so did some loose New Zealand fielding. Lockie Ferguson's first over was full of wides and cost 22 runs. Late in the chase, Santner came back to bowl the 18th over and gave away 19, which took the game away from New Zealand. A chance to dismiss Dhir also went begging.

The result is India's highest successful T20I chase, and it is also the highest successful chase at Hagley Oval. It also gives India a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Four of the first five Indian batters scored at better than a run a ball, which suggests the line-up is aiming for strike rates well above 150 in this format.

The Indian bowlers have something to fix as well. Phillips and Jacobs scored freely against them at the end of New Zealand's innings. The visitors can afford to give up runs while their batters keep scoring this fast, but a longer total could still test them.

New Zealand have to tighten up their bowling quickly, because there is little time to do it. The second T20I is on Saturday at the same ground. Santner will want his seamers to find a better length with the new ball. If they do not, India will again have a platform from which to chase a big target.