IND vs NZ 2026: Mitchell Santner wants Daryl Mitchell to replicate heroics in T20Is after ODI series triumph

New Zealand's white-ball captain Mitchell Santner hopes Daryl Mitchell can repeat the performances he put in during the ODI series in the T20Is against India. Mitchell ended up as the leading run-scorer across both teams with 352 runs in three matches at a strike rate of 110.34.

Santner, who was unavailable for the ODIs as he recovering from injury, complimented the manner in which Mitchell navigated the spinners and played them with ease.

"Daryl struggled against spin initially, but he worked incredibly hard and you can see the fruits of that labour now. He is playing spin really well. He controls the game beautifully in the middle overs during ODIs. Hopefully, he can do something similar in T20Is," stated Santner during the pre-match press conference, as quoted by India Today.

Santner also spoke on New Zealand's liking of playing in India. He also relished the opportunity of facing a quality opposition, and stated that the series will be a perfect preparation for the T20 World Cup to follow.

"It obviously gives us an edge. We love playing India, and we love playing in India. We've had some recent success against them in different formats, so we're really looking forward to this series. The aim is obviously to win the series, but also to prepare well for the T20 World Cup. It's about playing a great team in similar conditions to what we're going to face in the tournament. It's going to be a great series. It's about facing a great team in conditions that will be familiar during the T20 World Cup," he added.

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New Zealand won the ODI series by a 1-2 margin. It was a historic series triumph, this one being their first-ever bilateral ODI series win against India in India. Mitchell will be one of the key performers to look forward to. The series-opening clash is scheduled to be played in Nagpur on January 21. The Kiwis have never won a T20I series against India in India.