We were fortunate to get two pitches which were similar: Kane Williamson

New Zealand extended their good run in the World T20 after they managed to beat the mighty Australian at the Dharamsala. The Kiwis batted first and managed to post 142/8 in 20 overs with the help of contributions from Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson and Grant Elliot. Defending 143 runs, the Kiwi bowlers looked to be out of control against the Australian openers. However, they clawed their way back into the game with the help of left arm spinner Mitchell Santner and seamer Mitchell McClenaghan. The Australians lost regular wickets in the middle overs and eventually lost the game by 8 runs.

Steven Smith, the Australian skipper, felt that his spinner could do well in comparison to their counterparts. Smith said: “I thought 150 was about par. Their spinners bowled well and we didn’t respond well. We lost wickets in clumps, which you can’t do in T20 cricket. We didn’t apply ourselves. Probably should have got the ones and twos. We’ve got to move on from this. We’ve got the talent, but we’ve got a lot of work to do. We need to find a way to have some success in those middle overs.”

Kane Williamson was grateful that his team got to play on similar kind of wickets in the last two games. Williamson said: “We were fortunate to get two wickets which were similar. We adopted similar tactics. It was a pretty tough total to chase on this track. I think it’s important to try and read the conditions and then select the side accordingly. Now it is important that we gel well as a group, it’s a small transition period. We need to look at the task at hand and perform as best as we can. It’s about commitment when you are trying to defend low scores. We take one game at a time and move on.”

Mitchell McClenaghan was awarded the Man of the Match for his match figures 3/17. McClenaghan said: “It is nice to perform like that, but the effort was collective. The spinners bowled well. The guys really stood out. We take a lot of confidence from the first two wins and we need to win more to advance. I like these conditions, makes me feel like a left-arm orthodox (smiles). We had to get off to a good start, our spinners brought us back into the game. Australia never give up. Full credit to them and I am sure we’ll see them later in the tournament. We are off to a fantastic start. We will work hard and focus on the next game. It’s been great to be part of the tournament so far.”