PAK vs NZ | Will wrap Karachi pitch up and take it to home, jokes Mitchell Santner

01/12/2023

Mitchell Santner is in love with Karachi's pitch because of the assistance it provided to spin bowlers. The Kiwi all-rounder believes the track, on which they are playing against Pakistan, is ideal to prepare themselves for the upcoming ODI World Cup and he would like to take it back to New Zealand.

In Karachi’s National Stadium, New Zealand roared back to three-match ODI series against Pakistan by beating them by 79 runs on Wednesday to level it 1-1. They endured a six-wicket defeat at the same venue two days earlier, but produced a spirited performance, particularly by the bowlers, to stage a comeback.

Despite opting to bat, New Zealand lost all ten wickets in 49.5 overs, and posted 261. Devon Conway and Kane Williamson shone with the bat, scoring 101 and 85 respectively but others made little impact. At No. 8, Mitchell Santner made 37 off 40 balls, but the rest of his teammates could not even touch the double-digits.

Keeping the last match’s conditions in mind, New Zealand rested pacer Henry Shipley and brought in Ish Sodhi in his place to form a three-member spin attack, which includes Santner, and Michael Bracewell. The move worked as the trio, as well as part-time off-spinner Glenn Phillips, shared five wickets in between them, and conceded 114 runs from their combined 30 overs. It helped New Zealand bundle out Pakistan for 182 in 43 overs.

Santner was delighted with how the conditions in Karachi helped him and his spin colleagues in the second ODI. In fact, the 30-year-old jokingly mentioned he would love to take the track back to his home in order to improve them for the ODI World Cup, which will be played in India later this year.

“It's nice when the wickets spin like today ... [I'll] try and wrap this wicket up and take it back to New Zealand, cos it doesn't really do that at home,” Santner said, as quoted by stuff.co.nz. “Every time we come to the subcontinent it's obviously enjoyable as a spin bowler and today was no different. It was nice to spin a few and build some pressure that way.”

New Zealand’s series decider against Pakistan will be played at the same venue as well, on January 13.