Ranchi: New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell believes that stand-in T20 captain Mitchell Santner is the best spinner in white-ball cricket at the moment after his impressive performance in the series-opener against India. Santner took two wickets for just 11 runs in four overs as New Zealand registered a 21-run win in the first T20 International of the three-match series on Friday.

Santner (Mitchell Santner) cast a brilliant spell and put a check on the run rate by throwing a maiden over to Suryakumar Yadav in the powerplay. Daryl Mitchell was adjudged ‘Man of the Match’ for his unbeaten 50 off 30 balls.

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“He is one of the best spinners in white-ball world cricket at the moment,” he said at the post-match press conference. Santner got the wicket of in-form Shubman Gill, who had earlier played a key role in India’s 3-0 win in the ODI series.

Daryl Mitchell said, “He (Santner) has been proving his worth. It was his special spell that put us in a winning position. He has been doing this for a long time, we are lucky to have him in our team. New Zealand spinners took five wickets on Ranchi’s pitch which was helpful for spinners. On this he said, “The spinners were definitely having a lot of trouble at the crease. ” (agency)