Ahead of the third T20I against India, New Zealand pacer Tim Southee on Tuesday praised Shreyas Iyer and said that the batter has played with freedom in the ongoing series.
Middle-order batsman Iyer has impressed everyone with his knocks in the first two matches. He has so far scored 102 runs and has managed to take the side over the line in both the T20Is against the Kiwis.
"You have initial plans for the guys you haven't seen much. He (Iyer) has come in and has played with freedom. He has had a great start to series, the whole India side has quality. We know that we need to be on top of our game," Southee told reporters ahead of the third T20I.
"India have played well. They are a great side, they have world-class players. We were outplayed in the second game, it is always tough when you play against India. We know that we need to be at our best to defeat them," he added.
Southee further said that the team now faces a must-win game to keep the series alive. He also added that they are looking to improve their fielding as it has bogged them down in the first two games.
"Change of venue, we need to win this game. I think the guys would have learnt from the first two games. we have to wait and see how the surface is like and then we will decide what we need to do," Southee said.
"We pride ourselves as a New Zealand cricket side. Our fielding has been off for the first couple of games, it is an attitude thing and we will look to improve it," he added.
India and New Zealand will take on each other in the third T20I on Wednesday.