Seven-star Tim Southee strikes for Kiwis

BANGALORE: Desperate to level the series, New Zealand are resting their hopes on their young pacers who they feel would respond to the situation well and force a win over India in the second Test.

New Zealand are leading by 244 runs with last pair on the wicket, leaving India with almost two full days to achieve the target.

The Kiwi assistant coach Bob Carter is also hoping that the pitch will deteriorate enough to give his bowlers some advantage over the Indian batsmen.

"We have three young bowlers who are raring to go. We are going to go look to make the ball swing and get into a good enough position to press for a win. We are also hoping that pitch deteriorates as a normal wicket does," Carter told reporters at close at Chinnaswamy stadium.

Tim Southee returned a career-best seven-wicket haul while Dough Bracewell took two wickets in Indian first innings, which folded for 353, 12 short of Kiwi total. Carter said if the pitch plays uneven, the contest will be interesting.
"The handy lead that NZ got due to positive approach has given the team an opportunity in this game," he added.

On James Franklin throwing away his wicket, Carter said the left-hander was doing the right thing by trying to get some runs for the team. On Southee's impressive performance, Carter said: "He reposed the faith the selectors had in him."

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