Captain says going for a win went “off the cards” during the second session of the final day that saw his side eke out a draw
“For us, having that experience, going out, batsmen spending time in the middle and bowlers getting overs under their belt after a fairly disjointed preparation was really valuable. For us it is really important that we make adjustments quickly again. We go to a new venue, and it will be different.”
“I mean you are always trying to adjust to conditions,” Williamson said. “The spinners that we have have been outstanding for us in a number of games and these sort of conditions. I think they will be much better for the hit out there. They have both come out of Auckland where they have been locked in their houses for a few weeks. So it has been a bit of a rush to get some overs under their belt.
“Having said that, they did make valuable contributions with the bat and the ball. The way the two seamers as well operated was simply outstanding and really gave us a fighting chance in this match.
“Tim and Kyle’s efforts kept us in the game and gave us a fighting chance to change the momentum. There was not a lot of pace to play with. Tim was able to change his angles and was certainly immaculate with his lengths and created opportunities for us, which is really special. Certainly at his best, and it was really great to see.
New Zealand started the day needing 280 more runs with nine wickets in hand. They were given hope by the nightwatchman Somerville, who hung around with opener Latham for the entirety of the session. However, Williamson said India’s bowling was good enough to never let them entertain thoughts of a win.
“Coming into the day we were aware that all three results were possible,” Williamson said. “Having said that there was a lot of hard work to do to give yourself a chance to chase versus trying to chase too early and finding yourselves in a sticky position. It was a matter of trying to take the day deep. And if we were close we would have had a crack if we were in the right position. But we weren’t in the end.
“India were able to put us under pressure throughout the sessions. Scoring was tough to come by, and there was a lot of navigating low bounce and balls that spun and those sort of things. If things unfold ideally, then it would have been great to try and get close to the desired result. Having said that, I think going through that second session, it was quickly off the cards. Then we saw a lot of contributions from the guys where they really knuckled down and fought hard to get a draw in the end. That was the next best thing for us.”
Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo