India vs New Zealand: Ranchi wicket surprises both Hardik Pandya and Mitchell Santner

Following India's 21-run loss to New Zealand in India vs New Zealand first T20I in Ranchi on Friday, T20 captain Hardik Pandya said the way the new ball turned in the second innings took the hosts by surprise while chasing 177.

New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner also expressed his surprise at the way the wicket behaved as the duo said at the toss they expected dew to play a role on a surface that seemed batting friendly.

Pandya said the new ball turned more than the old ball on the surface while his counterpart heavily relied on spinners from the powerplay.

"No one even thought that the wicket would play like that and both teams were surprised," said Pandya at the post-match presentation ceremony on Friday. "But they played better cricket on this and that's why the result end up like that. Actually, the new ball was turning more than the old one and the way it spun, the way it bounced, it caught us by surprise."

"On hindsight, I don't think this wicket was 177, we were poor with the ball and conceded 20-25 runs. It is a young group and we will only learn from this," said Pandya.

He further praised Washington Sundar for being in a class of his own as the southpaw scored a 28-ball 50 down the order. Sundar's bowling came in handy too as he finished with a spell of 2/22, earning further backing from the captain.

"The way he bowled, batted, and fielded, it was Washington against New Zealand today. We needed someone who can bat and bowl, gives us a lot of confidence and it will help us going forward," he said.

India vs New Zealand: 177 was never a safe total, says Santner

New Zealand captain Santner further said that 177 was never a safe total but Daryl Mitchell's 59* gave them the momentum.

"I don't think we were ever safe, 170-odd was nice with Daryl hitting a couple over and he batted extremely well, we knew we had a sniff with 180," said Santner. "It was nice to chip away some wickets in the powerplay and we had trouble doing that in the ODIs.

"At the toss we were going to bowl because we know chasing is so good over here and especially with the dew. That's always the challenge (on the captain using himself). You don't want to be seen doing the easy overs and stuff like that. We knew it was spinning in the powerplay and it was nice to chip one out."

India vs New Zealand: Daryl Mitchell wins man of the match

Daryl, who also won the man of the match award, took it upon himself to build the New Zealand innings after the top-order batters told him about the curious nature of the surface.

"The guys who went in early said it was pretty difficult against spin because of the tacky nature," said Daryl. "It was my job to build a partnership and then take the onus on myself after Conway's departure.

"For me it is being really present and really clear, keeping it simple as possible and trusting my skills, not everytime it comes off in T20 cricket but it is always nice when you get a few off the middle."