India vs NZ 2021: "We haven't had a lot of training with the nature of this series being so close together" - Tim Southee
New Zealand stand-in captain Tim Southee has rued the short turnaround between the T20 World Cup and India tour. Southee feels that has significantly impacted their preparation and acclimatisation following their T20 series loss against India on Friday.
New Zealand lost the three-match T20 series with a game to spare, as India successfully chased down a 154-run target in Ranchi. The hosts had previously produced a commanding seven-wicket victory with a hard-fought five-wicket win on Wednesday in the series opener in Jaipur.
A strong chase from India in Ranchi. Congratulations on a series win. Skipper Tim Southee the pick of the bowlers with 3-16 from his four. We go again on Sunday. Scorecard | on.nzc.nz/30KlRoC #INDvNZ https://t.co/Dmoh78q62u
Although Southee admitted that dew affected both sides in Ranchi throughout the night, he said New Zealand needed to adapt better. However, Southee believes the visitors didn't have enough time to train with the wet ball. The 32-year-old said, as quoted by the New Zealand Herald:
"There was heavy dew throughout the whole night; there was dew already in the warm-ups. It played a factor for both sides; it did get a little bit worse as the game went on, but we knew it was going to be the case."
"I just don't think we adapted to the surface as well as we could have. It's tough; you can obviously train with a wet ball. We haven't had a lot of training with the nature of this series being so close together, it's just: play, travel day, play, travel day, play again. So there's not a lot of training, so I think the guys just have to find a way."
Southee, captaining New Zealand instead of their regular captain Kane Williamson, delivered an outstanding bowling performance. He bagged figures of 4-0-16-3 in the second T20I. However, the likes of Mitchell Santner, Trent Boult, and Adam Milne weren't amongst the wickets.
"Hopefully, we can finish the tour on a high" - Tim Southee
Southee conceded that the dead rubber on Sunday would be significant, as it's an opportunity for the benched guys to showcase their talent. The right-arm seamer said:
"The guys have got one last push; there's a number of guys going home after this next game; so hopefully, we can finish the tour on a high. It's another opportunity to represent your country; so I don't think you need any extra motivation to get yourself up."
The third T20I of the ongoing series will be played in Kolkata before the two-match Test series starts in Kanpur.
Game 3 is in Kolkata on Sunday. #INDvNZ https://t.co/ftSGojciTj
The second Test match will be played in Mumbai.