New Zealand recently achieved a huge feat as they defeated Team India in a Test series on their home soil. The historic win ended India’s commendable streak of 18 consecutive home series victories from 2012. And, veteran New Zealand pace bowler Tim Southee shared his thoughts on this massive achievement.
“Yeah, I think you just look at the history. What is it, 12 years that someone’s been able to do and 18 series or whatever it is. It’s a very, very tough place to come. I think if you look at it from my perspective and the cricket I’ve played in the past however many years, I think you look at India and Australia are the two places that are probably the most difficult to tour. Both the conditions, the quality of the opposition and how good they are at home makes it a tough place to tour,” Southee told Cricbuzz.
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The win also holds a special place for Tim Southee, who recently handed over the leadership after the team’s defeat in Sri Lanka. When he was asked about ranking this achievement among his career highlights, he kept it alongside winning the World Test Championship as well.
“If you look back, it’s hard to go past the World Test Championship and winning the World Test Championship. But this (series win vs India) is right up there, if not equal to that. I think it’s hard to go past those two. It’s certainly been a highlight of my career so far,” Southee added.
He also shared his relationship with Indian greats and how he felt while playing against the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, and MS Dhoni.
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“I guess one of the first things that comes to mind is – tough. It is tough. For us, coming from New Zealand, the conditions are so foreign. I think every time you come here, you’re playing against a superstar outfit. I think you look back to that 2010 team, they’re like Tendulkar, Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid, Laxman, Dhoni. Like, as a young guy, to be able to come over here and play against those guys was a dream come true,” he further added.
“But I think you look at this one in particular, 12 years, 18 series. It’s nice to be that side that’s broken that run. I guess it shows to other teams around the world that it is possible to beat India in India,” Tim Southee concluded.
