Veteran New Zealand pacer Tim Southee on Thursday (December 2) said that it is not easy to bowl short balls on slow surfaces ahead of the second and final Test against India, starting on Friday (December 3) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
He also admitted that New Zealand’s short-ball tactic was under-utilized while bowling to Shreyas Iyer, who on debut, smashed a century and a fifty in the first Test match, which ended in a draw earlier this week.
Southee said when he was whether more short-ball tactic could be employed while bowling to Iyer: “He played exceptionally well, the way he played on his debut and with that confidence, it was brilliant. I guess we have a little more information on him now. It is not that easy to target with a short ball on such slow surfaces. We will look at our plans, although he scored some runs, India has a quality lineup.”
Southee denied taking any changes to the New Zealand XI, as the Kiwis are yet to take a look at the wicket at the Wankhede Stadium.
He added, “Those are decisions which Kane Williamson and Gary Stead have to make in the next 24 hours. We have not been able to train because of the weather, they will have a look at the wicket this afternoon and then a decision can be made but we are yet to take a look at the wicket.”
Southee signed off by saying about the inclement weather in Mumbai, “I guess the wickets have been under the covers, hopefully, Gary and Kane can have a look at this wicket this afternoon. We were not expecting rain but this is something we need to adapt to it.”
India squad:
Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Suryakumar Yadav, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha, KS Bharat, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Md. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
New Zealand squad:
Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Will Somerville, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, Will Young.
(With ANI Inputs)
