"We were surprised by the behavior of the pitch" - Michael Bracewell after New Zealand's 21-run win over India in first T20I

New Zealand all-rounder Michael Bracewell admitted that the outrageous turn of the Ranchi track took him by surprise in the first T20I against India. The 31-year-old felt Mitchell Santner's guidance did New Zealand a world of good in their 21-run win.

New Zealand's spinners outbowled India's as Bracewell, Santner, and Ish Sodhi picked up five wickets in 11 overs. In contrast, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Hooda, and Washington Sundar could only pick up three wickets in 10 overs as New Zealand finished strongly to post 177 in 20 overs.

Speaking in an interview after New Zealand's first win of the tour, the off-spinner stated that he was lucky to get turn while beating Ishan Kishan's outside edge:

"We were surprised by the behavior of the pitch. It was turning and it helped us while defending. On the delivery of Kishan's wicket, I was trying to get some turn off the pitch and was lucky that it beat the outside edge."

Bracewell admitted that the visitors had their towels ready for the dew and that it was a relief after a 3-0 sweep in the ODIs:

"Mitchell used the experience and we discussed what to bowl on this surface. There was a little bit of dew in the end but we were ready with the towels. It's massive to bounce back after the disappointing ODI series. We are looking forward to going into the next game with the momentum behind us."

Bracewell managed only one run with the bat, but gave the visitors two vital breakthroughs with the ball. After knocking over Ishan Kishan in the second over of the innings, he returned to dismiss Indian skipper Hardik Pandya to finish with figures of 4-0-31-2.

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"Don't think we were ever safe" - New Zealand captain on defending 176

Mitchell Santner claimed figures of 4-1-11-2. (Credits: Twitter)

Kiwi skipper and left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner admitted that it was good to see a balanced track after a run-fest in the ODI series and credited Daryl Mitchell for his match-turning innings. The 30-year-old said at the post-match presentation:

"I think it was a bit of a shock, how much it spun in the second innings. After lots of runs in the ODI series, it was nice to see the ball turn. I don't think we were ever safe. Daryl Mitchell batted really batted well."

"At the toss, we were thinking to bowl because it was dewy from the start but it never really got worse. The newer and harder ball was spinning a lot in the powerplay."

The second T20I will start at 7:00 PM on Sunday (January 29) at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.