New Zealand all-rounder Mitchell Santner has revealed the reason behind the Kiwis' win over Pakistan in the second ODI at the National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi on Wednesday.
New Zealand secured a comprehensive 79-run triumph over the Men in Green, thanks to Devon Conway and Kane Williamson's partnership and a brilliant performance by the bowlers.
Santner, who scored 37 runs and claimed a wicket, said the Kiwis' bowling was the reason for the win.
"I think it looked like the pitch turned a bit more. We bowled pretty well as a unit. It was nice to take two wickets in the powerplay and then break the partnership between Rizwan and Babar, which we really couldn't do in the first game. We managed to get wickets at key times to up their run rate," the all-rounder said in a post-match press conference.
Babar and Rizwan put on a 55-run partnership for the third wicket, but Santner broke the partnership as he bowled the wicket-keeper batter to reduce Pakistan to 64-3.
The visitors bowled 30 overs with their spinners during the match and opted to bat first.
Asked if New Zealand had read the wicket before playing three spinners, he said: "It probably spun a little bit more than we thought. Once the ball got older in the second innings, the ball spun more. I think that was the plan to play three spinners and bowl second. We were looking to get 280-300 runs, but we managed 260. We knew we had to bowl well and we did bowl well in partnerships and never gave away easy boundaries against some really good bowlers," he said.
The two sides will take on each other in the series decider at the same venue on Friday.
"It's obviously nice to win this game but we know that it's on another wicket, which could be similar or different. We are not sure. Pakistan are a quality side so it's nice to go into the series decider," the 30-year-old added.
