In the land of spin, Santner scripts a successful tale

In the land of spin bowling, it is rare to grab a slice of spotlight from the Indian spinners. Mitchell Santner is among the few spinners from visiting teams to have made an impact in a short time.

The 24-year old, playing his first Test in India, has shown exceptional temperament with both bat and ball, albeit in a losing cause. He would be the key player for New Zealand as they seek to level scores against India in the remaining two Tests in Kolkata and Indore.

The left-handed batsman and left-arm spinner, Santner rounded off with five wickets -- three in the first innings, and 71 runs during the stubborn 102-run stand with Luke Ronchi in the second innings -- to emerge the pick of performers for the Black Caps during their 197-run defeat at Green Park.

Santner had created similar waves when he had toured India during the World T20 earlier this year, not to forget his 4/11 in inflicting shock defeat on India in the opening contest at Nagpur.

 In fact, ever since he graduated to the New Zealand side after a promising domestic season (2014-15), Santner has drawn comparisons with former captain Daniel Vettori. Incidentally, Santner was named in the one-day squad for the tour of England following the retirement of Vettori after the (50-over) World Cup in New Zealand’s hunt for another left-arm spin option.

Vettori himself had recognised Santner's talent as he came through the ranks and dropped his name as a potential candidate to fill in his shoes. During the Kanpur Test, Santner yet again showed the glimpses of his “idol”, whom he had consulted before embarking on the Indian tour.

 “Vettori was an idol of mine," Santner had said. "I watched a lot of him over the years but if I do half as good as he did it would be special.”

 Vettori had taken 31 wickets in eight Tests in India and 98 Test wickets in the sub-continent in total. Santner is now eight Tests old with 20 wickets at an average of 30.55. In fact, after the Kanpur Test, he became the first New Zealander to score more than 100 runs and pick up at least five wickets in a Test match since 2011. Vettori was the last to accomplish this feat.

 During the first two days the New Zealand domination in the first Test, Santner was able to hit the right areas regularly, mixed the pace and utilised the turn to keep up sustained pressure on Indians. With bat, he was able to pick the line early on a spinning pitch in both the innings, showing patience and maturity beyond his years.

As New Zealand approaches the second Test in Kolkata, captain Kane Williamson acknowledged Santner would be crucial figure for them in the coming days.

"He played outstandingly well. It's his first time in this part of the world playing Test cricket and it was a great step in the right direction for his game. We all know he has got the talent with bat and ball and in the field, to apply himself like he did and bowl a number of overs and be successful was very good against good players of spin. It was a huge positive for us. He'll look forward to the next one and I'm sure he's learned a lot from this experience," he said.