India vs New Zealand, 2017 ODI series: 5 talking points

#4 New Zealand missing an extra spinner

Santner silently stopped the free flow of runs

Mitchell Santner was the only spinner in the playing XI. He bowled a match-winning spell in the opener of the 2016 World T20 against India at Nagpur on a turning track, significantly troubling the Indian batsmen. Even in the bilateral series in 2016, he was vital in containing runs.

In all three ODIs, Santner's economy was far lower than India's run rate. If NZ had played an extra spinner (like Ish Sodhi), that would have made it much tougher for the Indian batsmen to score runs in the middle overs.