Naman Dhir says India’s opening T20I win was deeply satisfying

Naman Dhir said India’s four-wicket win over New Zealand in the opening T20I was deeply satisfying. His unbeaten 42 off 15 balls helped complete a record chase, while he praised the team’s approach and thanked Indian fans in Christchurch.

Christchurch: India all-rounder Naman Dhir said winning a match for the country so early in his international career left him with a deeply proud and satisfying feeling, after his unbeaten 42 off 15 balls helped the side seal a four-wicket win over New Zealand in the opening T20I at the Hagley Oval.

Chasing 226, India got home to complete the record chase with two balls to spare, with Dhir hitting the winning boundary. “Winning a game for India is obviously a proud feeling, and especially since I am still young and new to the team, so it is very satisfying.

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“Gautam (Gambhir, head coach) sir also talked about it in the dressing room: if you set the tone right from the beginning, it helps you further along. So I guess it is a very good win for all of us,” Dhir said in a video posted on BCCI’s social media accounts on Friday.

He also said he had to adapt to the cooler New Zealand weather and conditions that did not always allow a batter to attack from the first ball. “Yes, I guess it’s a little colder here than India. But if we talk about batting, I’m hitting the ball very well.

“I just wanted to continue doing it and I guess T20 games are always a white-ball game situations where the situation was different. You could have hit a six as soon as you went there. It was a little different here. So I was trying to adjust my game accordingly.”

Dhir revealed that the plan at the business end of the chase was to keep things uncomplicated. “Actually, at that time we discussed that if we hit two good shots, just proper cricketing shots, two boundaries, then the game would end right there. And yeah, we got those two crucial fours. There was not really anything to overcomplicate; we just needed to hit two good cricketing shots at that point, nothing else.”

He also thanked the Indian fans who turned up in large numbers in Christchurch and urged them to keep coming out to the stadium in huge numbers. “It’s a very good feeling. Indians, wherever you go, you will find us in any part of the world. So there is no bigger blessing than that for us. I would say, come again in the next match. Support us like this so that we can see more of the blue jersey here.”

Before the game, opener Abhishek Sharma had fired up the team in the huddle with a Punjabi rhyme. “In Punjabi we say, if we rhyme well, we’re going to do well. So, Bari barsi khatne gaya si, khatke leanda hand. Bari barsi khatne gaya si, khatke leanda hand. Chalo, aaj japa pehla, jeetiye match India-New Zealand,” Abhishek had told his teammates.

Dhir said not everyone in the team understood the words, but the message landed in his mind. “Actually, it was good. He also said some lines in Punjabi. I guess only 3-4 of us would have understood it. But yes, it was very pumping and it was a good speech. He also boosted us in the warm-up.”

The second T20I will also be played at Hagley Oval on Saturday, before the teams move to Wellington, Auckland and Hamilton for the last three T20I games on October 27, October 30 and November 1 respectively.