Wellington, Feb 6 (PTI) He knocked the daylight out of Indian bowlers in the first T20I with an explosive half-century but opener Tim Seifert says he isn't losing his sleep over his World Cup chances.

The wicket-keeper batsman blasted a 43-ball 84 to lay the foundation of New Zealand's 219-6 against India at the Westpac Stadium.

His explosive innings gave ample display of his talent and for New Zealand another option when it comes to taking a specialist back-up keeper at the World Cup.

However, Seifert said he isn't worrying too much about the World Cup.

"I just go out, do what I do, and hey, if that gets me over the line, brilliant, you know, but still being young, you know, (I've) still got time on my side," the 24-year-old said in his post-match press conference.

"Don't get me wrong, I want to be at this World Cup, but if I get there, fantastic, it's a dream come true, but if it's not then there are things to work on and get to the next one."

A self-confessed fan of Brendon McCullum, Seifert said he had watched and followed the former skipper while growing up.

"Yeah, obviously. I'd be lying if I said Baz (McCullum) wasn't one of my heroes growing up," he said.

"Obviously you try to be yourself out there, but I definitely have looked at Baz throughout my childhood."

Seifert scored six sixes and seven fours in his audacious knock which included a switch-hit boundary off Krunal Pandya's left-arm spin.

"I kind of just looked at the field and, you know, it's all in the moment. I don't really practice it or anything, it's just kind of in the spirit of it, but I just thought of his angle, and obviously got him slog-sweeping a couple of times, so I thought he maybe might slow it up. Yeah, it's kind of a little punt you take, but it's T20 cricket for you," he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)