ICC T20 World Cup 2016: 5 Hits and 5 Misses from the Super 10 Stage

Hit: New Zealand’s spinners

Mitchell Santner was the pick of New Zealand’s spinners

For years, the burden of New Zealand’s spin bowling was shouldered by Daniel Vettori. Wehn he retired, the Kiwis thought they would be quite big shoes to fill.

However, only a year after his retirement, the Kiwis have found 2 new heroes in Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi. These two youngsters have picked up 17 wickets between them at a combined average of 9.64 and an economy rate of 5.39. They have been ably complemented by Nathan McCullum who has delivered whenever he has been picked.

Looking at the kind of wickets that have been on offer, it was widely regarded that Ravichandran Ashwin would be at the top of the bowling charts at the end of the Super 10’s. However, it is the 24-year old Mitchell Santner who has occupied that spot thanks to an excellent understanding of the conditions. Instead of bowling quick, as is the norm in T20’s, he tossed the ball up and invited the batsmen to go after him. Expert players of spin like Rohit Sharma and Steve Smith fell into this trap of his.

In a recent article, ex-Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif underlined the importance of a leg spinner in the team. Ish Sodhi, by way of his performances, vindicated Kaif’s point. He used his variations to good effect and ensured that the batsmen had a hard time scoring against him. Given that he was bowling on Indian soil for the first time, the way he adjusted to the pace of the surfaces on offer was remarkable.