New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson thought the perfect execution of plans against India has worked for them in the first Test but he refused to term their win as “bouncing back” from their 0-3 whitewash against Australia. New Zealand came into the series from a series defeat in Australia and put up a stunning show to outclass India in just over three days.
“Bouncing back isn’t a term that we use within our group. You can get carried away thinking about results (especially) when you have a number of poor ones and sometimes the want (urge) for a good one can be a distraction towards getting (achieving) it,” Williamson said after the first Test here on Monday.
“So it’s about focusing on things that are important. The roles that give us the best chance of success and if we do that, the result manifests and I think that’s what we saw in this game and that was what was pleasing,” Kane Williamson said.
“It was a really brilliant all-round game for us. Guys were really committed to their roles on a surface that offered enough to create a good balance between bat and ball. It’s a really important lesson moving forward to Christchurch,” he added.
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But he also wants to his team do well in the second Test as he expects India to bounce back well.
“The challenge is there in front of us because we know come Christchurch we will need to be on our game again. India is the number one in the world for a reason and they have had success all around the world,” Kane Williamson said.
Man-of-the-match Tim Southee, who picked up nine wickets, was happy that he got some swing. However, he added that the team are not thinking about the past and looking forward to doing well in the future.
“Being a swing bowler helps, and being able to swing the ball is always handy. The wind is always kind of assisting Trent (Boult) and me over his left shoulder and my right shoulder,” Southee said. “When it tends to be still here in Wellington, it does move around a bit more. It’s about putting the ball in the right areas for a long period of time and we were able to get some assistance with the swing.”
“It’s about looking forward rather than looking back and being able to move on from previous experiences. Just like this one, we’ll enjoy tonight and our focus will shift to Christchurch. It’s continuing to learn as a cricketer and enjoying every opportunity you get,” Southee concluded.
