Birthday boy Ish Sodhi has championed the performance of New Zealand's powerplay bowlers, after an emphatic eight-wicket win over India at the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup at Dubai.
The Blackcaps restricted the highly touted Indian line-up to just 110/7, with Sodhi's 2/17 earning him Man of the Match, after dismissing superstar duo Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
But he credits the work of spearheads Tim Southee and Trent Boult, as well as the miserly spell of Mitchell Santner, for setting the tone for a complete bowling performance.
Boult took 3/20, while Southee had 1/26 and Santner 0/15, with all three completing their allotted four overs.
Boult started the Indian nightmare, dismissing Indian Premier League star Ishan Kishan, elevated to the top of the order at Rohit Sharma's expense, in the third over.
The leg-spinner credits the core bowling group for adjusting to the late change and assessing the conditions to perfection.
"You have to be able to think on your feet," says Sodhi. "As a team, we talk about adapting to conditions and when you are faced with a circumstance like that.
"To be able to respond so quickly is a great test of character and our powerplay bowlers did a great job today.
"The way Mitch bowled through the middle - and I think he had one in the powerplay - was brilliant. We, as a group, benefit from the pressure he puts on the batters and that can't go unnoticed."
Despite his outstanding display with the ball, Sodhi is reluctant to take any gloss off his teammates for what he describes as a "special win".
Opener Daryl Mitchell provided the impetus needed with the bat in their pursuit of their modest target, spanking 49 from 35 balls.
"That was phenomenal from Daryl tonight," says Sodhi. "He was facing one of the best bowling attacks in the world, so that is a huge testament to his character in what was his second-ever opening the batting in an international T20.
"We believe in his ability immensely and that was never going to be an easy chase, but the way he played tonight was the icing on the cake."
And the bounceback performance now puts the Blackcaps' destiny in their own hands. Defeat against India after the tight loss to Pakistan last week would have left Kane Williamson's side needing other results to go their way to sneak into the semi-finals.
Now, three wins from three would see the Blackcaps likely join Pakistan in the final four.
"We held our composure," says Sodhi. "It was hard for us not to think about how big a game this was in terms of the competition.
"The toss went our way, we have so much experience in this group and that showed, with Trent and Timmy setting the tone, and to back up what we did on the field with what the batters did was a great job by all."
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