NEWS
Follow UsThe visiting side are in a commanding position at stumps on Day 2 in the first Test match at the Green Park in Kanpur courtesy of a five-wicket haul from Tim Southee and an unbeaten opening stand of 129 runs between Tom Latham (50) and Will Young (75).
"It was a great day for us, and we knew we probably had to make early inroads with the new ball, slightly harder, and the two guys (Iyer and Jadeja) that were were playing nicely," said Southee in a press conference after the end of the play.
"Asked to bowl first, it was a pretty solid performance. The way our openers have gone about, it's been exceptional. We've come to terms with what Tom Latham can do, but for someone like Will Young who hasn't played any cricket all this while since the World Test Championship final, for him to go out and play the way he's played, it's been great to watch as well," he further added.
The right-arm pacer wreaked havoc in the first session of the day to scalp his 13th five-wicket haul in Test cricket, his second against India.
The 32-year old attributed his stellar success away from home in the last three years to adapting quickly to foreign conditions and honing his craft with the old ball. While the Indian seamers struggled to get a breakthrough, Southee used the crease brilliantly and extracted swing with the new old ball on a slow and low pitch to trouble the opposition batters. His new-ball partner Kyle Jamieson, too, was not far behind.
"I have been fortunate to come to this part of the world as a youngster. Learnt a lot from those trips early on in my career," said Southee, who played his first Test in India back in 2010.
Southee also boasts of the best bowling average by an away pacer since 2018, eclipsing the likes of Pat Cummins, Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah. Though he is a multi-format player, his love for the whites can be gauged from the fact that he keeps a red ball in his bag no matter which format he is playing.
Talking more about his success over the past three years, he said, Like I said, just the hunger to get better. Each time you go and represent your country and looking at different ways to learn and get better throughout as well."
The Kiwi pacer also shared insights on the conditions and his equation with his new-ball partner, Kyle Jamieson. "Spin is going to play a massive part throughout the series like it does in this part of the world. But our seamers have been a pillar for this side for a long time. The way Kyle has taken up Test cricket, very pleased to see him bowling first time in this part of the world. To be able to bowl the way he did is great sign for us as well, " he concluded.
(With inputs from PTI)