Very Pleasing To Beat A Quality Side Like India: Tim Southee

New Zealand’s pace spearhead Tim Southee has said that it is very pleasing for him to beat a country like India when it comes to the Test cricket. New Zealand ended team India’s winning streak in Test cricket on Monday when they beat the visitors by 10 wickets in the first Test of the two-match series.

India have been in a fine form in Test cricket since the inception of the ICC World Test Championship last year and had won seven games consecutively. They were on the top spot in the points table apart from being the number one Test side in the ICC World Test Team Rankings.

But, Kane Williamson and his men looked determined enough to beat the world giants and did so by cruising to a 10-wicket victory in the first game. Tim Southee was awarded the Man of the Match for his brilliant bowling. He picked four wickets in the first innings and improved further in the second by clinching a fifer.

Tim Southee Opens Up After Beating India

“Great win. To beat a quality Indian side, the way we have is very pleasing. The effort throughout from everyone was outstanding. I think this morning was a massive moment in the game. Being able to pick up those two wickets before the second new ball was crucial,” he said.

Tim Southee is the @ANZ_NZ Player of the Match at the @BasinReserve. 9 wickets in the Test including his 10th 5 wicket haul. #NZvIND pic.twitter.com/sI0BoPfBlW

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 24, 2020

“The more you play, you get back into the rhythm. If you want to play three formats, you got to chop and change. As a bowling unit, to take 20 wickets and an effort like this was pretty pleasing. The wicket had more in it than usual. With the wind there, the ball did a bit more,” Southee said after picking up his Player of the Match trophy.

Team India had a poor show of batsmanship in the first Test against New Zealand. They were bundled up for 165 runs in the first innings.

This led the Kiwis to prosper on a 183-run margin. Indian batsmen were demolished for 191 runs and New Zealand had a target of nine runs to chase in their second innings. They did so without losing a wicket and handed India their first defeat in the format since last year.

Also Read: Virat Kohli Reacts To Prithvi Shaw’s Poor Performance In New Zealand