The cricket ground in Pune witnessed a spectacle that cricket enthusiasts will remember for a long time. New Zealand’s left-arm spinner, Mitchell Santner, crafted an extraordinary tale of success on a day that seemed destined to work in his favor. After missing out on the Bengaluru Test and having an unremarkable showing in Sri Lanka with figures of 1/197 across two Tests, Santner made a stunning return to form in Pune. His remarkable performance culminated in impressive figures of 7/53, setting up a crucial first-innings lead for his team.
In a post-match interview on the end of the second day’s play, Santner expressed his disbelief over one of the most significant moments of the match: dismissing Virat Kohli. “I think I was in more of a shock getting Kohli out off the full toss. He doesn’t usually miss those,” Santner remarked. It was a dismissal that left everyone, including Santner himself, astounded, considering Kohli’s reputation for being a formidable batsman who seldom misses opportunities like that.
Santner attributed his success to a day where fortune and skill miraculously aligned. “I think it was one of those days where I just got the wickets,” he reflected. Despite struggling in Sri Lanka, where he often bowled well but didn’t bag many wickets, he stressed the importance of building bowling partnerships. “I guess we speak about bowling and partnerships a lot. If we can build from both ends, one guy will get the wickets, and one guy will do more of a holding role. That was kind of how it ended up in Sri Lanka… Ajaz or someone else got the wickets the other end. That might be similar [in the] second innings where we just try to build pressure from both ends and someone might get the wickets,” Santner elaborated.
Santner’s performance on Friday was a masterclass in spin bowling ingenuity. He expertly used different angles and varied his pace, capitalizing on the surface’s assistance.
. This accomplishment, he said, came with the guidance of spin bowling consultant, Rangana Herath. Even when he bowled the delivery that led to Kohli’s unexpected departure from the crease, there was an element of carefully calculated craftiness involved. “I think it was slightly slower through the air. I just tried to change it up a little bit but usually, if you bowl those they go for six. So, there was obviously a little bit there which was nice,” he explained, adding that the strategic variation in pace was a crucial factor in his success. Santner’s average bowling speed of 82.7 kph was slower than the averages of both teams in the first innings; this diversity in pace played a pivotal role in his wicket-taking spree throughout the day.
Discussing the challenging dynamics of bowling in such conditions, Santner demonstrated his strategic acumen: “I guess when it’s spinning at a fast pace, you can kind of stick to that. But [here] there was a little bit of variation. Some would spin, some would skid, some would stay down. It was kind of just trying to play with angles on the crease as well, but try and land it in a similar spot.”
Santner hailed the accuracy and strategic patience adopted by great spinners like Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin on Indian pitches – a philosophy he emulated with great success. “All we talk about is being accurate for a long time and try to let the pitch do its thing. Not trying too much. It might be the odd subtle change of pace, but still trying to land it in a pretty good area and see what happens,” he stated, emphasizing the importance of keeping the stumps in play, a tactic aimed at compelling the batsmen into errors.
Looking ahead to the next innings, Santner predicted that India might adopt a more aggressive strategy. “I think India will probably come out maybe more aggressive and try and put us on the back foot,” he mused. However, he remained firm in his focus on the task at hand. “There’s still a job to do with the bat. The more runs we get now, it makes our job with the ball a little easier,” he concluded, reflecting the balanced and strategic mindset that had already served him well in an extraordinary outing, making the day undeniably one for the books.