New Zealand vs India 2020: Kiwis coach Gary Stead praises his bowlers after win in 1st Test
New Zealand head coach Gary Stead expressed his satisfaction with the bowling performance displayed by the Kiwis in their 10-wicket win against India in the first Test in Wellington. He also spoke on Neil Wagner's probable comeback in Christchurch for the second Test at Hagley Oval.
The pace spearheads - Trent Boult and Tim Southee- returned to the side after missing the last Test against Australia back in January. India were all out for 165 and 191 in the two innings, with both the pacers taking 14 wickets and hunting as a pair with their impeccable lengths, supported by the wind and green pitch.
While Southee won the Man of the Match award for his combined figures of 9-110, the lanky debutant Kyle Jamieson spearheaded and made his presence felt in the first innings with figures of 4-39, which included big-match players like Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Stead termed the bowling effort as an "accurate performance with the ball":
I can't speak highly enough of the bowling unit and the way they went about taking 20 wickets on a pitch that had a little bit in it the whole time. From my perspective I think it was our most accurate performance with the ball.
From the top-order collapsing in the batting line-up to India's problem in facing the tailenders, nothing went right from the toss for the Indian team as they let the game drift away in ease.
The 48-year-old head coach also expressed that he was shocked to see India's surrender in the first Test, but expects a comeback from the visitors in the second Test:
Yes, that was a surprise. But I think that's Testament to the amount of pressure we put on them for a long period of time. We picked up wickets at times you might consider were critical in the match ... and I guess that was the catalyst for the win.
Whoever we go with, we know we will have to put in a performance that we did in this game, because we know India will get better.
Wagner missed out on the first Test following a paternity leave. Being New Zealand's first- choice bowler in the red-ball format with his experience and short ball deliveries, his absence didn't hurt the Kiwis as Jamieson showed brilliance with both the bat and ball.
While Jamieson chipped in with four wickets in the first innings, he also played a knock of 44 off 45 balls, which included four massive sixes. However, his impressive outing could give the Kiwis a selection headache, to which Stead addressed the possibility of going with four specialist seamers at the Hagley Oval.
Yeah, that's always good selection dilemmas to have. Neil Wagner will come back and he's been a force in our team for a long time, and obviously Kyle Jamieson made the most of his debut, and the way he played, I thought, was outstanding as well, did a really good job for us. Neil will be back (in the eleven) with us without a doubt.
It will be interesting to see if Williamson and company will play with an all-pace attack as the Kiwis will be looking to clinch the series, with the second Test starting on 29th February.