India's stand-in captain Hardik Pandya who led his team to a massive 65-run victory expressed his happiness after the win. He also gave his take on seeing more batting all-rounders in his side for better bowling options.
After Suryakumar Yadav slammed an unbeaten 51-ball 111, Deepak Hooda used his off-breaks to dismiss four batters and guided India to victory over New Zealand in the second T20I.
Hooda is an effective batter in the lower middle order too.
"Can't get any better than this. Everyone chipped it but it was surely a special inning by Surya. We would have taken a score of 170-175," Pandya said during the post-match presentation.
"Bowlers did well and it was about being aggressive in the mindset. It doesn't mean taking a wicket every ball, but being aggressive with the ball is important.
"The conditions were very wet, so credit to the bowlers. I have bowled a lot, and going forward I want to see more bowling options. Not always that this will work but I want more batters to chip in with the ball," he added.
Pandya, who is captaining the team in absence of Rohit Sharma, said his job as a leader is to provide the team the right environment in the dressing room.
"I expect them to be professional, which they are. Give them the opportunity to enjoy themselves. It's about creating an environment where they are all in a happy space," said the 29-year-old.
"I see many times in this team that all the players are happy for each other's success. And that's important."
Hardik Pandya's captaincy record in T20s
- Matches played as a captain: 19
- Matches won: 15
- Runs scored: 565
- Wickets taken: 9
- Highest score: 87
- Best Bowling in innings (BBI): 3/17
- Batting Average: 40.35, Bowling Average: 31.66
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson admitted it was "not our best effort" and said Suryakumar's whirlwind innings made all the difference.
"Surya's innings was out of this world. One of the best knocks I've ever seen. Some of those shots, I've never seen before. They were outstanding," he said.
"We weren't up to mark. We didn't get momentum with the ball, didn't get enough wickets, and didn't get momentum with the bat either. It was frustrating."
"Important to look at those few areas and improve. Need to look at the small margins. Sometimes, special innings can happen, Surya is the best player in the world."
