Skipper Shreyas Iyer on Thursday praised Naman Dhir following India’s record chase in the first T20I against New Zealand, saying the all-rounder gives the team a “lot of options” besides offering a calming presence in tense situations.
Shreyas (42 off 28) and Naman (42 not out off 15) helped India chase down 226 — their highest in T20 cricket — following a sizzling 67 from Sanju Samson at the top of the order.
Naman had made his India debut last month.
“He gives us a lot of options, especially for left-handed batsmen (with his off-spin), or even the right-handers batting, especially on this ground. Bowling those two-three crucial overs actually can change the momentum.
“I personally feel that the calm and composed nature that he showed today, it was simply magnificent to see him bat,” said Iyer.
Naman, however, did not bowl in the series opener.
Going into the game, the Indian players were feeling the jet lag having arrived in New Zealand just two days prior to the series opener.
“Probably we have got to forget about the jet lag now,” said Iyer with a smile.
The India skipper said the conditions got better for batting as the game progressed.
“When we started bowling, I thought it was playing a bit slow. The ball was holding a bit, and we bowled a little ahead compared to the hard lengths we should have been hitting.
“But as soon as the game progressed, we saw the dew coming in, and the wicket was getting flatter as the ball was getting through and coming onto the bat pretty well, and that’s how they got the momentum and they reached 220.
“Kudos to them for the efforts, but obviously we needed that kind of start, especially when you’re chasing 220, getting to 80-85 in six overs, that’s a tremendous start,” said Iyer.
Samson gave India a flying start as the visitors raced to 94 for one in the powerplay.
On the performance of openers Samson and Abhishek Sharma, Iyer added.
“You don’t have to tell them how to go about their business. They know exactly what they’re doing, and once they get going, it’s just about the momentum they carry forward, and today was just an example of that.
“So obviously it doesn’t happen every time, but once they click, you see that they set a game for us, and the rest of us, we just come and steady the ship and see to it that we finish off the game.”
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said his team would aim to do a better job against the Indian openers going forward into the series.
“Another big powerplay from them. We weren’t probably at our best. We can sharpen up a few things, but I think we know what the ball does, so you can slow them down.”