Veteran pacer Tim Southee backed out of form Jasprit Bumrah, calling him a world-class bowler. Bumrah had yet another poor outing as he went wicketless again and was the only Indian bowler who failed to get a dismissal on day two.
“Bumrah has been a world-class bowler. Obviously coming back from injury but he is a quality player. And great performance are never far away when you are a quality player. Hopefully, we can keep him quiet for the rest of the tour but you can’t keep good players like Bumrah down for too long. He is working really hard behind the scenes to get wickets but sometimes you can bowl really well but still not get the wickets.”
After another lower-order collapse that saw India get bundled out for 165, Ishant, coming straight back from an ankle injury, took three for 31 in 15 overs despite Williamson’s effortless 89 in New Zealand’s day-end score of 216 for 5.
Southee also heaped rich praise on India pacer Ishant Sharma, who coming straight back from an ankle injury, took three for 31 to help his side claw back with late strikes before stumps on Day 2.
“Ishant has done it for a long period of time and has been a great bowler in all conditions around the world. I guess it comes back to experience. You don’t have the ideal preparation still you can get,” Southee added.
