Williamson lauds Southee and Boult's 'patience and energy'

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson reserved special praise for his team’s fast-bowling trio of Tim Southee, Trent Boult and debutant Kyle Jamieson after their win against India in Wellington.

The three quicks took 18 of the 19 wickets taken by the home side in the Test, not allowing India to touch 200 in either innings, and they even contributed 88 runs with the bat in New Zealand’s first innings, leading to a 183-run lead.

“Kyle Jamieson was brilliant,” Williamson told the broadcasters at the post-match presentation. “Through the summer… In white-ball cricket, he’s come in and made valuable contributions. So great debut for Kyle, contributed in a number of ways [four-for in the first innings and 44 with the bat]. A great experience for him to come into a somewhat established bowling unit.

“Southee’s mindset wasn’t of one with a point to prove [he was dropped in Sydney, New Zealand’s last Test before Wellington]. He just wanted to operate the best way he does.

“Having his good mate Boult at the other end would’ve been a nice thing for him too. The left-arm, right-arm combination has been so successful for us for a long time. They showed it today, especially with the older ball. We know India can bat for days, so the patience and energy they both showed was great.”

“Outstanding effort over the space of four days. We know how strong this Indian team is all around the world, so the effort that went into that first innings, to put the ball in the right areas for long periods of time and then get a competitive total with the bat on a surface that was offering something [was good].”

India struggled to stitch together lower-order partnerships in both their innings, while New Zealand reached 348 in their first innings despite being reduced to 225 for 7 at one stage. Those stands at the back end added a lot of value, Williamson said.

“Even the lower-order runs are important to get a bit of a lead because, as we saw, that if you did pick up a wicket, you could take a couple more,” Williamson said. “That’s why it’s an all-round team effort. [We] didn’t know what to expect from the pitch on the day before the Test and the morning of [it]. Because it wasn’t as windy this week, there was a bit more swing on offer. The bowlers were brilliant, but overall, a real collective team effort.”

Southee, who finished with a nine-wicket haul and collected the Player-of-the-Match award, also mentioned the relative lack of breeze as having an impact on this Test. “To beat a quality India team was very pleasing,” Southee said. “[After Australia,] we were back to conditions we were familiar with. The effort from everyone was outstanding.

“Today morning was a massive time in the game. We were trying to get a couple of wickets before the new ball was available because we knew India were trying to get through that period with the set batsmen [Ajinkya Rahane and Hanuma Vihari].

“To take 20 wickets as a bowling unit was very pleasing. The pitch had a little bit more there than usual. It usually gets pretty good [to bat] as the Test goes on, but when the wind goes down you see more swing.”

Source: ESPN Crickinfo

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