The India-New Zealand ODI series was a high-scoring affair, so strength in bowling became even more crucial, and in the absence of the seasoned Mitchell Santner, the performance of a rookie spinner who had had no prior international experience beforehand became even more remarkable.

Jayden Lennox was 31 but had played only 21 first-class matches and just over 50 List A games in a career spanning more than six years, but the maturity he showed against the Indian batters on pitches that didn’t offer any significant help caught the eye of everyone, including legendary Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

Watching the deciding third game of the series in Indore, Ashwin said: “This Jayden Lennox is such a clever operator.”

The off-spinner with more than 537 wickets in 106 Tests mentioned that “his intellect will be applauded by most, but his control over speed and length is exceptional.”

That Lennox makes the most of his ability can be traced to his qualification in science and technology. On his debut in Rajkot, the left-arm spinner from Hawke’s Bay conceded just 42 runs in his 10 overs, getting the wicket of the dangerous Harshit Rana towards the end of the innings, while India aggregated 284 in their 50 overs. His control could be gauged from the fact that he leaked just two boundaries in his spell, despite starting inside the Powerplay and ending in the 48th over.

If anything, Lennox’s performance in the decider on the Indore shirtfront, that too in the second innings of an ODI when spinners often struggle, was even better.

He again gave away only 42 runs as India chased 338 for victory, getting last match’s centurion KL Rahul and later getting left-hander Ravindra Jadeja, despite the match-up considered to be in the batter’s favour.

Despite bowling his entire spell while Virat Kohli was batting in his element, Lennox conceded just one boundary – a flat-batted six by the rampaging Harshit Rana in his final over – the 41st of the innings, when the Indian batsmen needed to take chances with the required run rate climbing rapidly.

In such a high-scoring encounter, the Central Districts spinner bowled as many as 23 dot balls, which attestedto  Ashwin’s observation about his cleverness and control over pace and length.

He comfortably out-bowled the more celebrated Indian duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja, who conceded 89 in 12 overs between them, getting only a solitary wicket.