Daniel Vettori admitted to being rattled when Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir came hard at them, adding that his reading of the wicket had helped him to figures of four for 20 and New Zeaand to a 10-run win in the Super Eights game here on Sunday.
“I absolutely felt the pressure when Sehwag and Gambhir were going hammer and tongs,” the New Zealand captain and man of the match said. “We couldn't slow it down, they are both two very good players. I knew how destructive Sehwag was, and Gambhir showed that he can be equally destructive. It was almost a case of waiting for those six overs (with restrictions) to be over, so we could squeeze them a little bit.
Hectic start
“We knew if we got a couple of wickets, we had a chance of winning the game or at least putting us in a position from where we could win it. I told the guys to always back themselves. But it has been twice in a row now that teams have got off to a hectic start against us, we have to work on it now,” he said.
All praise for Craig McMillan and Jacob Oram, who turbo-charged the Kiwi innings as 78 came in the last five overs, the skipper observed.
“It came down to good cricket. Jacob and Craig realised the situation and targeted a couple of bowlers -- Yuvraj for one -- and they got the momentum going. We finished particularly well. When you take that momentum into your bowling innings, you have a chance. In Twenty20, things become reasonably monotonous quite quickly to the batsman,” Vettroi said.

Varying pace
Of his own effort, he remarked, “I am happy with my performance. Some of the shots they played to me didn't suggest they showed me too much respect! I was just varying my pace, which is my forte. I managed to work out batsmen and get on top of them from there. I didn't feel at any stage like they were trying to respect my bowling and get runs from the other end.
“The wicket suited me. It didn't turn a lot but it sat on the wicket, which is difficult for batsmen who like a little bit of pace. I maximised the nature of the wicket when I realised it was going to suit me. People are learning that the more you take wickets, the more chances you have, even in Twenty20. If you sit back and be defensive, it is going to hurt you.”
Like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Vettori is skipper in his own right for the first time.
“I have enjoyed it so far. You enjoy it when you win and you perform well. I have to wait until I have those continual bad days. It's a responsibility I enjoy and that I wanted. Whilst it's going well, you enjoy it and make the most of it. A lot of the Twenty20 game is backing instincts and hunches, and I think it worked particularly well today,” the New Zealand skipper said.

On Twenty20
His take on Twenty20 cricket as such?
“I hope this is not the future of the game,” he replied, “but I am sure it will be part of the cricketing landscape. I am a big fan of Test cricket and one-day cricket, and I don't want to see that minimised because of Twenty20. But it's going to be a major part of cricket in the coming years. We have to make sure guys take it seriously and give it the importance it deserves,” he said.