We’ll Look to strike with new ball: Southee

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Even after going down heavily in the first Test, Kiwi skipper Ross Taylor had hinted that he would go with the same eleven in the second Test.

But when the visitors announced the playing eleven, there was one change, with Tim Southee replacing fellow-pacer Chris Martin.

Two days into the Bengaluru Test, Southee has stood out in the Kiwi bowling chart, bagging two early wickets to put his team on top before breaking the Indian charge dismissing the well-set Suresh Raina in the final session.

The 23-year-old bowler stated that New Zealand have to inflict more damage with the new ball to nudge ahead in the contest. “It’s nice to swing the new ball and we were lucky to pick up a few wickets.

India came back well after lunch as the ball got a bit older. It’s a good wicket. Now it’s important for us with the second new ball and see if we can pick up the rest,” pointed out Southee.

Though he conceded that India have done well to recover from the early jolts, Southee maintained that his side was never boxed into a corner.

“We’re still creating chances and getting edges. We didn’t build enough pressure through dot balls but there were still chances with the edges. We bowled well but unfortunately we couldn’t get it to reverse.”