When Mitchell Santner was given the ball in India’s first innings, it seemed as though he wanted to demonstrate his abilities and make a point right away. Santner took the momentum into his time with the ball after Hacing’s confidence-boosting 33 in the Kiwis’ opening innings. He silenced the crowded Maharashtra Cricket Association as he claimed seven of India’s nine wickets on Day 2 of the current Test match.
The fact that the bowling all-rounder was coming off a Sri Lanka trip when he took only one wicket in 66.2 overs added even more praise to the effort. Santner’s success was credited by former Indian cricketer Anil Kumble to his white-ball acumen.
“The bowling angles he uses and his knowledge of white-ball cricket bowling.” He bowls consistently in the places he has established control over his speed in with white-ball bowling. This is because bowling speed and variations are equally as important as the turn that everyone is talking about. Kumble said, “And that’s something he is good at,” in reference to Santenr’s bowling performance.
Mitchell Santner first Test five-wicket haul puts him on the elusive list.
It was the 32-year-old’s first five-for in Test cricket. He became just the fifth player in India to reach the milestone in the game’s longest format, finishing with seven, and joining an exclusive collection of Kiwi spinners.
In an innings that they would prefer to forget, Santner took the fifth wicket of Ravindra Jadeja, who went on to become India’s leading scorer.
Also Read: Mitchell Santner joins Daniel Vettori on elite list after recording career-best statistics in Tests
It will be interesting to watch how many wickets Santner adds to his collection when India chases runs in the near future.
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