NZ vs ENG | Was always going to be a tough chase for England if we kept taking wickets, states Tim Southee

New Zealand were successful in beating England in the third T20I by 14 runs and taking a 2-1 lead in the series, making the next game at Napier a must-win one for England in order to save the series. Skipper Tim Southee lauded the batting effort of all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme for steadying the innings and giving it some much-needed momentum to help the team reach a score of 180 in their 20 overs.

In reply, England were in pole position until Morgan lost his wicket and then the New Zealand bowlers pounced on the opportunity by picking wickets at regular intervals, thereby restricting England to 166, 14 runs short of their total.

"We showed as a group that it was going to get tough if we kept taking wickets. It was always going to be tough to hit from ball one," Southee told in the post-match presentation ceremony.

"As long as Morgan was there they always were going to have a sniff," he further added.

De Grandhomme has been given a new role in this T20 side and he seems to be enjoying it. The big hitting all-rounder has taken more responsibility batting at number four and has been consistent for the team and hence the New Zealand skipper lavished praise on the big man.

"Colin has kicked on for us from Sri Lanka. He is a great team man and he is striking it really well; nice to see him kick on and get a big score," Southee said.

Despite the win, Southee admitted that the game could have gone either way and feels that his side have a lot of areas to improve on heading into the 4th T20I of the series.

"There are still a few areas we need to work on. It could have gone either way at the halfway stage in the second innings," he concluded.