New Zealand National Cricket Team captain Mitchell Santner suffered a hand injury scare during the fifth and final ODI against the India National Cricket Team at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Sunday, November 15. Mitchell Santner was hit on his hand while batting and needed quick medical attention from the team physio.

However, the left-hander returned to batting soon after receiving treatment. The injury scare added to New Zealand's disappointment as India won the match by 22 runs and clinched the ODI series 3-1. Read Also: Ruturaj Gaikwad takes stunning diving catch to dismiss Will Young in 5th ODI [Watch].

Mitchell Santner opens up on his hand injury

After India clinched the ODI series at Bay Oval, Mitchell Santner later revealed that his hand is not good. He said at the post-match presentation, as quoted by Cricbuzz, "Pretty sore, not a lot (smiles); it's not great. An x-ray tomorrow morning—let's see what it is.”

Mitchell Santner had a good day with the ball, taking 3 wickets for 47 runs in 10 overs. Jacob Duffy also picked up three wickets for 60 runs, while Matthew Fisher took two wickets for 28 runs. Michael Bracewell and Blair Tickner claimed one wicket each.

Their efforts helped New Zealand bowl India out for 209 in 42.1 overs. New Zealand bowlers made good use of the early movement and kept the Indian batters under pressure.

Santner hails New Zealand bowlers for keeping India to 209 in 5th ODI, but rues lack of partnerships

However, New Zealand failed to chase down the target of 210 runs against the Men in Blue in the ODI series decider. They were 64/1 at one stage but then lost five wickets for just 55 runs and slipped to 119/6. Several batters got starts, but none of them could convert their starts into big scores. Santner scored 24 runs off 31 balls before Naman Dhir dismissed him in the 41st over.

New Zealand were eventually bowled out for 187 in 48.1 overs. Santner was happy with New Zealand's bowling performance and felt that restricting India to 209 runs was a good effort. He said the pitch was slower than expected, but his bowlers adjusted well to the conditions.

The New Zealand captain said, "I was very happy at the halfway stage. It’s probably not as much in it as we thought. I thought the guys adapted well. It was obviously a little bit slow, and then the way Beast (Michael Bracewell) kind of operated through the middle, you know, was outstanding. I think we were able to chip wickets out throughout. I was pretty happy with the 200 (209).”

Mitchell Santner credits Shreyas Iyer for smart bowling changes in India's win over New Zealand

Meanwhile, Mitchell Santner credited India's fast bowlers for their thrilling win over the Black Caps in the final ODI. He also credited Shreyas Iyer for rotating the bowlers smartly and using them at the right time. Santner felt New Zealand could have won if their batters had built longer partnerships, but India's bowlers kept taking wickets and handled the pressure well.

Arshdeep Singh led the attack with 3/30, while Mohammed Siraj picked up two wickets for 50 runs. India used four fast bowlers, including Auqib Nabi and debutant Yash Thakur, for the first 35 overs before bringing in spin. Axar Patel picked up two wickets to help India finish the job.

Mitchell Santner further mentioned, “I think they bowled really well in tonight's show. All four seamers bowled well; Shreyas did a great job rotating them around. Obviously held Axar back because the seamers were going really well. I think they were able to chip wickets away through the middle as well. They brought Arshdeep back on at the right time and Siraj as well. So, it was a great performance.”

Mitchell Santner says India vs New Zealand ODI Series was much closer than 3-1 scoreline

The captain felt the 3-1 ODI series result did not show how closely New Zealand competed against India. The star all-rounder said that his team played good cricket despite rain interruptions. Notably, rain affected the first half of the five-match ODI series, with two matches decided by the DLS method and one game completely washed out.

Santner signed off by saying, “You look at the scoreline 3-1. I think it was closer than that. We played some good cricket. Obviously had a little bit of rain around and lost a few tosses. But in between all that, there’s a lot of good stuff.

I think today, even in the last game, if you could take it a little bit deeper, there’s obviously a lot of time, especially with the bat in 50-over cricket. And then, different guys coming in—it's obviously a good experience. Guys stepped up as well, which was nice.”