Mitchell Santner made his international debut in 2015, but it was only in the 2016 T20 World Cup that he started to get noticed. To be more specific since that match at Nagpur where New Zealand seemed all but doomed after India had bundled them out for 126. Enter Santner in the third over and India went into a spiral that ended with the hosts getting shot out for 79, throwing the group wide open. Santner took four prized wickets that day— Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya — for 11 runs.

Spinners from non-subcontinent nations generally have a short shelf life, more so in New Zealand where grassy turfs keep the ball comparatively newer, making it difficult for slow bowlers to extract spin. Roles get restrictive as a result, inevitably leading to fewer appearances. You don’t have to look beyond Ajaz Patel — the third bowler in Test history to take all 10 wickets in an innings, that too in India in 2021—who is struggling to break into the team.

Santner is an exception that way. Chances in Tests have been few and far between in an eight-year career, but he has stayed relevant in shorter formats by constantly improvising. He is excellent at controlling the run rate but when in India, he also turns on the aggressor mode, as was evident during Monday’s match against Netherlands in Hyderabad where he took 5/59.

“It’s nice to come over here and see some spinning wickets because they’re few and far between back in New Zealand,” said Santner after New Zealand completed a second straight win, by 99 runs.

“I guess the role in New Zealand is slightly different to here. You want to be a little bit more aggressive. You keep your slips in for longer. I try to operate with that mid-on up most of the time, only having three back, trying to make them play big shots.

“And if it is spinning, yeah, the role is kind of more aggressive. And then I think we’ll see at times throughout this tournament if it’s pretty flat, it might be that defensive role for a little bit, try to get wickets through pressure. And then if it is, like tonight, if there is a little bit of spin, it might be, all right, let’s be more aggressive. Let’s throw it up, leave the slip in.”

India gives Santner licence to get more adventurous. Some of that spunk has stemmed from his previous tours with New Zealand. But the bulk of it was earned at the Indian Premier League where he honed his skills with Chennai Super Kings. Chances were still limited given Ravindra Jadeja was always the primary spinner, but even that experience has clearly helped the 31-year-old.

This was only Santner’s second ODI five-wicket haul, but he was the first to admit he hadn’t bowled as well as he had against England in Ahmedabad. Colin Ackermann and Scott Edwards were the key wickets but it came at a price as Santner conceded nearly six in the middle overs.

But he doesn’t mind. “Probably missed a little bit more, but it was nice to keep trying to be aggressive and get wickets. I guess that’s the only way we can kind of slow the batters down in the middle of the ODI innings,” he said.

Next up, Santner goes to Chennai — almost his second home — where New Zealand face Bangladesh on Friday. If the India-Australia game is anything to go by, Santner knows batting will be as difficult for his team as he hopes to make it for Bangladesh. “We knew going into the tournament that Chennai has that nature of being a bit spinny and it did, especially in the first innings the other night,” he said.

“And they’re (Bangladesh) obviously good players of spin so it’s going to be a challenge just like every other game is going to be in this World Cup. I think we’re going to see teams beat teams and have upsets. We’ve got to be prepared for both those next coming games. First is Bangladesh, and if it is something similar to the other night, it could be spinning a little bit in the daytime and then start to skid on a little bit and get a little bit dewy second innings, so we’ve got to be prepared for both.”