Former India player turned commentator Ajinkya Rahane has applauded Naman Dhir for playing an important knock in the second T20I against New Zealand. He added that the middle-order batter’s innings changed the momentum of the game.

During a discussion on Sony Sports, Rahane said, “What a turnaround. In the first 14-15 overs, if you see Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell’s spells, they dominated. I feel Naman Dhir’s innings changed the game completely. He took the risk there. He played a brave innings. He hit three sixes in between. He scored 31 runs off 17 balls. I think the entire momentum changed from there, and Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy finished the game after that. Why is the Indian team champions in this format? It’s because they have different match-winners.”

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In the same discussion, former India captain Ajay Jadeja applauded Naman Dhir for attacking the New Zealand spinners.

“He scored his runs at a stage when Mitchell Santner had conceded nine or 10 runs in almost three overs. He finished his over well. He came at a difficult stage and maintained the pace that was there in the rest of the match. Then, when he got a Michael Bracewell over, he went after him,” he said.

“All Indian batters were struggling against spin or were having difficulties against it, and he made as much impact against them. He would be disappointed with himself because he got out at that stage. He left after doing the difficult job,” Jadeja concluded.