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Having recorded a second successive victory over India in as many Twenty20 matches, New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori heaped praise on his bowlers for restricting the visitors to 160 in Wednesday's match in Christchurch.
New Zealand, who had beaten India by 10 runs at the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, inflicted a seven-wicket defeat on Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team in the opening match of the 47-day tour.
"There are number of aspects I was pleased with. Obviously, we were put under immense pressure at the start. I am happy in the way the bowlers responded to it and the way they restricted a destructive team like India to 160," Vettori said at the post-match press conference.
The left-arm spinner also picked wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum for special mention.
The opening batsman guided New Zealand to victory with an unbeaten 56 that included three sixes.
"In the chase, Brendon McCullum was the rock. Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor and Jacob Oram played around him. I couldn't really have many complaints," said Vettori, who himself bowled a tight spell giving away just 18 runs in his four overs and picking Yuvraj Singh's wicket.
Talking about the track, the New Zealand skipper said it was a bit slow and felt they were helped in their cause batting second.
"I think it was a slow wicket. If anything, under lights, it quickens up a bit. And then there is the dew. So it is a touch easier to bat under the lights. It was a pretty good T20 track, though a little bit slow. The boundaries made it easier to bat," Vettori said.
He, however, did not agree that it is difficult for spinners to bowl in T20 cricket.
"It is a huge challenge. I think Harbhajan (Singh) and myself bowled pretty well. You probably have to change your game a little bit. Sometimes you have to flatten out a little bit because a mis-hit can go for a six. That is just another part of it where the boundaries are a bit bigger," he said.
However, the captain hoped that the bigger boundaries at Wellington will allow the spinners to experiment a bit more.
"We go to Wellington next, where the boundaries are a bit bigger and we can bring more out of our repertoire. A good spinner will adapt his game to conditions."
Vettori also lauded former India coach John Wright's role in shaping the win.
"John's been very helpful. He obviously has a very good understanding of the way the Indian team plays. The big thing about John is that he has immense respect for the Indian team. Most of the information he gives is praise. So you can't use all of it, but a couple of things here and there have been useful," he said.
After losing the one-off Twenty20 match in Australia by a run earlier this month, Vettori was happy that the home crowd had something to cheer about.
"It was a home game for them. Every T20 game you play, the crowd seems to get excited. There were 23 sixes hit tonight, the most in a T20. That is what people come to watch," he said.
The teams meet in the second and last Twenty20 international of the tour in Wellington on Friday.