Captain Tim Southee happy with William O'Rourke, Rachin Ravindra despite Test loss
"Will's had a very short Test career so far, and he's certainly announced himself, We saw in New Zealand how dangerous he can be," Southee said.
New Zealand did not get off to the best of starts to the Test series against Sri Lanka. The side took on Sri Lanka in the first Test of the series at the Galle International Stadium from September 18. The side does not have a good record in Galle, and it is worth noting that from the side’s five Test defeats in Galle, one game was lost by an innings and one by 10 wickets.
The trend continued when Sri Lanka managed to defeat them in Galle once more by 63 runs. However, despite the loss, two players were noticeable for New Zealand skipper Tim Southee. The two players are pacer William O'Rourke and all-rounder Rachin Ravindra.
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William O’Rourke was often touching good speeds throughout the game, taking five wickets in the first innings, O’Rourke took three wickets in the second innings to follow it up, and speaking of his performance, Tim Southee came forward and hailed the pacer.
“Will's had a very short Test career so far, and he's certainly announced himself, We saw in New Zealand how dangerous he can be. He's got the skills to have a very good Test career. For him to come to his first Test in the subcontinent and walk away with a very impressive eight wickets for the match is nothing short of special. He's got a great head on his shoulders, and he's a big guy. So there's a lot to like about Will O'Rourke,” Southee said after the game.
Rachin kept us in the hunt: Southee
Furthermore, Southee also talked about the performance of Rachin Ravindra. In the first innings, Ravindra scored 39 runs, and in the second innings, he followed it up by scoring 92 runs as New Zealand attempted to chase down 275 runs to win the game.
“Rachin kept us in the hunt with that chase. We knew it was [a] tough ask, and that it was going to take something special, with the wicket taking a lot of turn in these last couple of days. It was a great knock in those conditions,” Southee said.
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