Mitchell Santner was delighted with New Zealand's bowling performance following their nine-wicket victory against Zimbabwe in the first Test.
The Black Caps bowled the hosts out for 149 in the first innings and 165 in the second, with Matt Henry leading the way with nine wickets in the match.
His figures of 9-90 are the second-best of his career, falling just short of his 9-55 against South Africa, while it is the third time he has taken nine wickets in a single match.
Nathan Smith picked up three wickets prior to his abdominal strain, while Santner (4-27) and Will O'Rourke (3-28) made big impacts of their own in Zimbabwe's second innings.
New Zealand sealed the victory with ease, needing just eight runs in their final innings after posting a total of 307 on day two.
Santner, who stood in as captain for the injured Tom Latham, praised his bowling attack but felt the batters could have done better.
"Great collective performance, more in it with the ball than we thought," said Santner.
"Lengths and lines, getting it right, to bowl them out for 150 was great. Could've batted a bit better. We had good intent [with the bat], talked about getting partnerships, didn't have many significant ones.
"They bowled well; Blessing [Muzarabani] is a challenge when it bounces like that.
"Henry wasn't in the Test team for a bit behind the big three, to take nine on that wicket is a pretty good effort."
Zimbabwe have now lost their last five Test matches, winning just one match in the longest format in 2025 (Bangladesh in April).
Craig Ervine remained optimistic after the result, but admitted his side did not adjust well to the unexpected conditions.
"Thought there was lot more application in this Test," said Ervine. "There was a fair bit in the wicket, but the guys tried to grind it out.
"A few dodgy decisions there, but unfortunately it didn't quite go our way. We thought the surface would play a lot better than it did.
"Haven't seen as much lateral movement as there was here for a while, probably a 100 short [in the first innings].
"When we came out, we could've easily picked two-three on the first day. [The] bowlers started exceptionally well on day two to bring us back into the game.
"We've been on the road for a fair bit, played quite a few Tests. Fresh mind, body important. Take a couple of days off, go back to the drawing board and come back fresh."
The second Test of the two-match series between the sides will begin on August 7.
