A five-match series against India on black soil surfaces ahead of the T20 World Cup proved invaluable, said New Zealand opener Finn Allen after helping the Kiwis to the T20 World Cup final with a nine-wicket win over South Africa as well.

“It was an extremely impressive start from our bowlers — they set the game up for us, for sure,” Allen said in the post-match media interaction. “On a surface like that, if you can take wickets up front and build pressure, it makes life a lot easier for the batters.”

“…it just shows the importance of that India series the boys played before the World Cup. Five games on black soil… you can’t replicate that kind of preparation,” he again said. “We learnt a lot as a group. As a team, we get up for the fight. In those important games, we’re prepared to scrap and stay in it till the end. The boys with the ball especially did that today and really set the tone.”

READ HERE: Shubman Gill Breaks Silence On ODI Futures Of Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli

However, Finn Allen will return to this ground as part of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad after being snapped up for Rs 2 crore at the IPL auction as well.

“I’m pretty happy to bat on that wicket a bit more often… It’s my first time playing in Kolkata. Having had that last game against India on black soil gave me a proper look at what to expect. That was really helpful coming into this one.”

“You take your lessons quickly in international cricket. We didn’t get the results in that series, but we took a lot of confidence out of competing in those conditions. He just kept dealing in boundaries… he’s been doing that all tournament. He’s in incredible form. He’s an incredible player and he’s showing the world what he can do,” Allen again said. “It makes it easier for me. Sometimes I feel like I’ve got the best seat in the house watching him go. It’s good fun batting with Timmy when he’s in that mood.”

“We looked closely at that first game against them,” he concluded. “They’ve been outstanding all tournament, backing up performances. But playing them earlier gave us a bit of insight into their plans and we tried to use that to our advantage.” On the final on Sunday, “As a nation, hopefully everyone gets behind us and rallies around us for Sunday. Finals are special… you don’t get too many chances at them.”