RANCHI:  New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell praised captain Mitchell Santner for his economical 2/11 in the first T20I against India at JSCA International Stadium, commenteing that the left-arm spinner is one of the best tweakers in white-ball cricket at the moment.

Santner, New Zealand's captain, delivered a fascinating performance of 2/11 in four overs, including 18 dot balls and a maiden to an in-form Suryakumar Yadav in the final power-play over.

He got a lot of grip and turned the ball square while being accurate to dismiss Shubman Gill and Deepak Hooda on a Ranchi track that favoured spinners as New Zealand won their opening game of the tour by 21 runs and seized a 1-0 lead in the three-game series.

"He is currently one of the top white-ball spinners in the world. He continues to demonstrate his class. That was a very exceptional spell from him, and it helped us win. He's been doing it for a long time for New Zealand, and we're really fortunate to have him "He stated this during the post-match press conference.

New Zealand reached 176/6 after being forced to bat first, thanks to half-centuries from opener Devon Conway (52 off 35 balls) and Mitchell (59 not out off 30 balls, including 27 off the penultimate over). They were helped along by starter Finn Allen's quickfire 35 off 23 balls.

Mitchell signed off by acknowledging that smashing three sixes and a four in the penultimate over off a shaky Arshdeep Singh gave the visitors some hope of defending the total.

"It was really difficult at times through the middle, particularly with the spinners - I guess that gave us confidence going into it with the ball that had 180-ish on the board. We knew we'd be in that ballpark if we could bowl well and build some pressure while hoping the dew didn't fall."

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