IND vs NZ 2021, 2nd T20I: “India were too good tonight” – Tim Southee
New Zealand captain Tim Southee credited India for another dominant showing after taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-T20I series.
The dew factor remained constant throughout the match in Ranchi. Electing to bowl first, India weren’t off to a great start as New Zealand piled 64 for one in the powerplay.
They returned brilliantly to restrict the visitors to 153 for six after 20 overs. Debutant Harshal Patel (4-0-25-2) and Ravichandran Ashwin (4-0-19-1) were the pick of the bowlers.
INNINGS BREAK!
Fine performance with the ball from #TeamIndia! 👍 👌
2⃣ wickets on debut for @HarshalPatel23
1⃣ wicket each for @ashwinravi99, @akshar2026, @BhuviOfficial & @deepak_chahar9
#INDvNZ @Paytm
Scorecard ▶️ bit.ly/IndvNZ2ndT20I https://t.co/iz8ogYly5i
In the post-match presentation ceremony, Tim Southee praised his opponents for adapting better to the wet conditions and said:
“Credit to India, they pulled it back nicely after the first six overs and played the better cricket throughout the game. There was dew right through. We knew there would be dew as soon as we stepped onto the field for the warm-ups. We knew it would be a factor, but India were too good tonight.”
New Zealand beat India in the 2021 T20 World Cup last month and finished as runners-up in the tournament. But this is the Kiwis' consecutive defeat series defeat against India in a bilateral series.
Need to adapt to the Kolkata conditions: Tim Southee
Another defeat will mean consecutive whitewashes for Tim Southee’s men against India. India sealed the T20I series 5-0 in their 2019-20 tour of New Zealand.
Tim Southee believes New Zealand will need to review the Jharkhand loss quickly and adapt to the Kolkata conditions to avert another clean sweep.
“We’ll go back and review this. It’s a different venue, and one thing we will try to do is adapt to the conditions. We need a quick turnaround, but we’ll assess when we get to Kolkata,” added Tim Southee.
Southee was the most impressive New Zealand bowler on Friday, claiming 4-0-16-3.
What a Spell ! NZ Skipp. Tim Southee 3/16
#INDvNZ https://t.co/D8iBEuEdAK
The final T20I will be played in Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Sunday.
India faced ODI and Test series defeats in New Zealand last year. They were followed by losses in the World Test Championship (WTC) final and the T20 World Cup this year. Hence, India will eye a clean sweep to try to level the rivalry.