Tamim was disappointed that his dismissal, pulling Southee in the air to Mitchell Santner on eight, had been the catalyst to their second innings demise for 173, leaving New Zealand a 109-run chase.
"We all took the easy option," he said. "People expect the leader to show the way and I didn't. The way I got out was rubbish. I take full responsibility because I started it."
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson paid tribute to the way his bowlers "passed the baton" to gel together.
"That was probably the best part of it. Throughout this series we've seen glimpses with the ball and the wickets have been good so it hasn't been easy.
"Guys came in, bowled spells, and passed it over to the next guy so you're still applying that pressure which is what it's all about, certainly on good surfaces.
"You had to be patient and put the ball in the right spot for a long period of time."
Williamson said the decision to promote Colin de Grandhomme into his No.3 came as the opportunity loomed late.
"It was a delicate situation. We didn't have chasing it down [today] as a goal.
"Getting close to getting offered that half-hour, we thought it was a good option for Colin - who is an aggressive player and hits the ball a long way - to go out and try to get us as close to that point as possible.
The captain was at a loss to explain the catching difficulties over the series.
"The guys are practicing hard and they do have very good hands despite what we saw in this game.
"It seemed to be contagious."
Matches to 200 wkts
Richard Hadlee 44
Tim Southee 56
Chris Cairns 58
Chris Martin 62
Daniel Vettori 63
