Captain Kane Williamson is a happy man having overseen a stunning turnaround for New Zealand who returned bruised from the Test tour of Australia before India added to their wounds with a 5-0 clean sweep in T20Is.
New Zealand recovered from the T20I thrashing by returning the favour in a three-match ODI series which they won 3-0 but would have been more satisfied beating the world’s top-ranked Test side in a 2-0 clean sweep.
“A fantastic series from outside and the way the guys stuck in,”Williamson said during the post-match presentation. “India are a world-class side and to beat them is quite satisfying. Outstanding feeling. Fairly sporting surfaces in both Tests. Bowlers had to put it in the right areas, but this pitch played well on all the days, even though history suggests it flattens out after doing a bit initially.”
India were bundled for 124 in their second dig in second test in Christchurch thus setting New Zealand 132 to win which they achieved for the loss of three wickets. Williamson said the scoreline might suggest it to be a one-sided contest but it wasn’t. “I don’t think the end result shows how tight that match was. We saw how many times the ball beat the bat,” he said.
He added, “The guys had to be disciplined, and the wicket was doing enough, but the fast outfields did allow runs, and it was important to hang in there. A few heavy learning curves, a few good bits in this summer, but these are all part of it. You’re always trying to improve and the two games here have been opportunities to learn too.”
Kyle Jamieson, who took a five-wicket haul apart from scoring 49 runs in the first innings, was chosen as the player-of-the-match. Williamson praised his effort saying it has been a ‘great progress’ for the tall fast bowler who made his Test debut during the series.
“Jamieson’s a very exciting talent, and contributed incredibly well with both bat and ball in both games. He’s tall and gets bounce which is very helpful in these conditions. The runs he scored in the backend of both games were very valuable. Great progress for him,” he said.
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