Christchurch, Oct 24 (IANS) New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner rued the defeat to India in the second T20I of the five-match series at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Saturday.

Speaking after the game, Santner emphasised that one more wicket in the middle could have given them the win, as Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy’s unbeaten 69-run stand took India to an unlikely win over the Kiwis in a 181-run chase.

“I mean, you play a very good team. It’s always going to be like that, I think. Tilak and Naman and then obviously Reddy at the end, really played pretty well. I think if we got one more wicket there, it was kind of game over. So the way they controlled that chase and, I guess, made us make some errors at the end,” Satner said after the four-wicket defeat.

The Kiwis made a few mistakes, one when Glenn Phillips had a rare misfield in the deep that went for a four. However, the New Zealand spinners did well to keep the pressure on India. Santner took 4-21, while Michael Bracewell was largely good too until he leaked 15 runs in his final over, which made his figures 0-35 from four overs.

“There’s plenty going through my mind. I think obviously the way the guys started with the ball, outstanding, I think. A score like 180, if they get off to a flyer with the power play, it’s pretty tough from there. So I thought we did pretty well to claw them back, and then obviously through the middle, Beast (Bracewell) is bowling extremely well, and it was nice to get a few poles,” he added.

Bevon Jacobs had put down a sitter to give Naman Dhir a lifeline on nine, and the batter made a crucial 31 from 17 balls. They also bowled a few no-balls, and Jacob Duffy had dismissed Abhishek Sharma only to overstep and give him a lifeline, although the opener did not trouble much and was later removed for 14.

“I think, you know, a couple of no-balls, obviously no-ball wicket and stuff like that along the way, that obviously hurts you. And I think that from a skills point of view, it’s been very good the last two games. It’s just kind of those little moments where whether it’s in the field or kind of those little sloppy stuff that’s going to hurt us a little bit,” he added.

The hosts also missed Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson in the death overs. Santner opened up on the absence of Henry, who bowled only two overs, calling that move precautionary.

“I think it’s precautionary, and I think Lockie went off as well. So hopefully those guys scrub up okay. But I think with the quick turnarounds throughout the series and in the one-day, there could be a bit of rotation. I think that’s just what it’s going to have to be,” he concluded.

–IANS

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