India captain Shreyas Iyer had high praise for Naman Dhir after his match-winning performance in the series opener against New Zealand in Christchurch.
He called Dhir’s batting ‘outstanding’ and pointed out his versatility, saying his skills with both bat and ball give the team more flexibility.
After a fast start thanks to Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, who pummeled 93 runs for the first wicket, India ran into some trouble in the middle overs. Naman Dhir then took charge, hitting an unbeaten 42 from just 15 balls. Chasing 226, India pulled off their biggest T20I run chase with Dhir’s aggressive knock giving Shreyas Iyer the space to settle things down during their crucial sixth-wicket stand which added over 50 runs. In the end, India won by five wickets and took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
After the match, Shreyas Iyer highlighted Dhir’s calmness under pressure. He said, ‘He gives us a lot of options, especially for lefty batsmen, or even the right-handers batting, especially on this ground, coming in and bowling those two-three crucial overs actually can change the momentum. And I personally feel that the calm and composed nature that he showed today, it was simply magnificent to see him bat.’
Looking at Naman Dhir’s T20I stats, he’s scored 80 runs in five innings—averaging 40 with a remarkable strike rate of 285.71. His top score so far is an unbeaten 42.
What really stands out about Dhir is how destructive he’s been in the death overs (the last five of a T20 match). He’s smashed 341 runs from just 167 balls in overs 16 to 20, scoring at 204.19, with 34 fours and 19 sixes. He’s lost his wicket 10 times in that crunch phase.
Shreyas Iyer said the pitch in Christchurch started out slow during India’s bowling stint, with the ball sticking a bit and not coming onto the bat well. But as the dew set in, things shifted—batting got easier and the runs started flowing.
He explained, ‘When we started bowling, I thought it was playing a bit slow. The ball was holding a bit, and we bowled a little ahead compared to the hard lengths we should have been hitting. But as soon as the game progressed, we saw the dew coming in, and the wicket was skidding flatter as the ball was getting through and coming onto the bat pretty well, and that’s how they got the momentum, and they reached to 220. Kudos to them for the efforts, but obviously we needed that kind of start, especially when you are chasing 220, getting to 80-85 in six overs, that is a tremendous start.’
In the chase, Samson blasted 67 from 33 balls with eight fours and four sixes, while Abhishek hammered 29 off just 12 deliveries, cracking two fours and three sixes. Their 93-run partnership gave India a dream start.
India stumbled mid-innings, slipping to 122 for 4, but Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel then put together a steadying 45-run partnership. Axar played a handy knock, scoring 24 from 14 balls with three fours and a six. Iyer himself made 42 from 28 balls hitting a boundary and two sixes.
In the end, Naman Dhir sealed the deal with a stunning finish—he stayed unbeaten on 42 from only 15 balls smashing five fours and two sixes. His late surge alongside Iyer helped India win with two balls to spare.