Tired side struggles in T20 loss
Black Caps captain Tim Southee has admitted the team’s hectic schedule has impacted their ability to train and better adapt to trying conditions in India after they suffered a T20 series loss yesterday.
For the second game in succession, India successfully chased down a Black Caps total with overs to spare, and despite a strong spell from the Black Caps captain, the side’s other bowlers seemed to struggle with the heavy dew at the ground.
Trent Boult, Adam Milne and Mitchell Santner all failed to take a wicket and conceded a combined 108 runs from their 11 overs, while Jimmy Neesham bowled two deliveries for 12 runs at the death.
While Southee denied the dew had affected the bowlers, he admitted they had not had a chance to replicate any expected conditions in training due to the side’s packed schedule.
“There was heavy dew throughout the whole night, there was dew already in the warm-ups. It played a factor for both sides. It did get a little bit worse as the game went on but we knew it was going to be the case; I just don’t think we adapted to the surface as well as we could have.
“It’s tough, you can obviously train with a wet ball. We haven’t had a lot of training. With the nature of this series being so close together, it’s just: play, travel day, play, travel day, play again.
“So there’s not a lot of training, so I think the guys just have to find a way.”
Despite already conceding the series to India, Southee says his side still have everything to play for in their third encounter tomorrow.
“The guys have got one last push. There’s a number of guys going home after this next game, so hopefully we can finish the tour on a high.
“It’s another opportunity to represent your country, so I don’t think you need any extra motivation to get yourself up.”
The fast-paced nature of this tour continues next week — after tomorrow’s T20 match, the Black Caps will attempt to slow their heartrates to begin the first of two tests on Thursday.
The side has never won a test series in India, so history beckons for the world test champions — while revenge will be in the minds of the Indian squad after they lost the world test final to the Kiwis in June.