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Bangalore: Pacer Tim Southee was the only change in the New Zealand squad ahead of the second Test. On Saturday, he justified his selection by taking three wickets.
He said the conditions helped him get the wickets. “With the new ball, I was getting some bounce and swing… So, I picked up some wickets… We really bowled well with the new ball.”
Asked about their chances in the match, he said: “It is too early to say anything as the wicket still looks pretty good. The pitch hasn’t done anything funny yet, but it might start to do something from the fourth day.
“So, it will be important to pick up quick wickets tomorrow, so that we can restrict India from causing further damage. If we can do that, we will be right in the game.”
Southee defended the New Zealand bowling attack for not getting more wickets in the later part of the day.
“We were creating chances and getting the edges. But we failed to build enough pressure on them. Also the ball got a bit old and the batsmen found it easy to deal with.
“It wasn’t a very abrasive surface so we couldn’t get much purchase off it. That’s why we couldn’t get the ball to reverse.”
He said that New Zealand would have loved to post a total of above 400. “A total of above 400 would have been nice. But we were unlucky with Doug (Bracewell)’s dismissal… He was playing well and if he would have stayed there, we could have gone on to post a big score. But those things happen,” he said.
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