Mitchell Santner appeals during New Zealand's second Test win over India in Pune. Photo: photosport
Match-winner Mitchell Santner says beating India at their own game has made New Zealand's historic series win all the sweeter.
Santner went from bit-part test performer to outright hero with his match figures of 13 for 157 in the 113-run victory at Pune to clinch the three-match series with a game to spare.
The 32-year-old left-arm spinner bamboozled the hosts in both innings with a simple philosophy and said everything clicked.
"To do it against India - and beat them at their own game - that was the most pleasing thing for us," Santner said.
"After winning the first test (in Bengaluru), we thought it was obviously a massive achievement but we kind of had conditions that were suited to us with the ball and we made the most of it.
"Then I guess coming here, we knew that it was going to be a different test altogether - a classic kind of Indian track where it's slow and takes some turn later on.
"We were able to squeeze them and take wickets. To do that against them, something they do to everyone else, was most pleasing."
New Zealand captain Tom Latham (L) congratulates team-mate Mitchell Santner. Photo: photosport
New Zealand's maiden series win in India also represented the end of an 18-series winning streak on home soil for the Indians, stretching back to 2012.
Santner's match figures was the third-best haul by a visiting bowler in India, behind only team-mate Ajaz Patel, who claimed 14-225 at Mumbai in 2021, and England great Ian Botham, who snared 13-106 in 1980.
The laconic spinning allrounder's performance was remarkable for going 29 overs unchanged in the second innings.
However, he believed his triumph would not necessarily cement a permanent place in the New Zealand test starting 11, noting he did not even play in Bengaluru and failed to make the most of his opportunities in the recent 2-0 series loss in Sri Lanka.
"Test cricket for me, I've kind of been in and out, so to get conditions like these over here and put in a shift like that is pretty pleasing," Santner said.
"Coming here, there was a little bit of confidence that I could hold up an end. Next test might be different again. Someone else might get the wickets and I might be dotting it up."
Mitchell Santner of New Zealand appeals. Photo: Vipin Pawar / Sportzpics for BCCI
Santner praised the advice of Sri Lankan spin great Rangana Herath, who has been a New Zealand assistant coach during their tour of the sub-continent.
Herath, in conjunction with the other analysts in New Zealand's squad, believed Indian tweakers Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja had bowled too quickly in the first innings of the Pune test.
"It was really skidding on and once we saw Washington and Ashwin slow it up a touch under that 90km mark, it started to take some turn," Santner said.
"It's a pitch where one would skid and one would spin so it just becomes an accuracy thing.
"Rangana was one of the best with his subtle change of pace but landing it on the same spot time and time again.
"That's the blueprint of what you need to do over here."
Santner added the amount of cricket played in India - most notably in the annual IPL Twenty20 league - meant it was not the daunting and unknown place of tours of yesteryear.
Meanwhile, he made light of a suggestion he could show more expression after claiming his wickets, rather than maintaining his trademark deadpan approach as Indian wickets tumbled.
"I don't have that in me, to be fair, I feel like that's wasted energy to me," he said.
"I was pretty cooked throughout that whole spell."
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