The new captain lauded his team's brave approach and how they made the early running in both Tests
Before 2024, New Zealand visited India 12 days across 69 years from 1955 to perform Test cricket, but they had always managed to win a line. On Saturday, in his first stint as full-time New Zealand captain, Tom Latham did an Edmund Hillary, leading New Zealand to their first-ever Examine collection win in India.
Latham was part of the New Zealand team that won the inaugural World Test Championship after beating India in the last in Southampton in 2021. But beating India in India is a different problem immediately and probably the toughest problem in globe cricket right then. When asked to explain what the victory in India meant to him, his team, and the New Zealand government, Latham was overcome with emotion.
" I'm sort of lost for words," Latham said. " It's certainly an exceedingly happy moment for this team. I think coming off the back of a Sri Lankan series where we did n't get the results that we wanted to come here and play the style of cricket that we played. We're obviously extremely glad to have won two Test matches below. Many New Zealand teams have visited this area in the past, so I suppose it's very special and, yes, very proud of this group to be the first to get a series below. "
But what did Latham's New Zealand do better than the other New Zealand squads of the history and this present India team?
" I think we've been on the appropriate part of a couple of knocks," Latham said. " That clearly played a major part I think, particularly in Bangalore. Only as I said, I think we've come below, and we've wanted to fire a shot. From a bat or bowlers perspective, we've always wanted to be the one who puts India under pressure. I definitely think we've done that. I think the way we played in this sport with the pitcher was really critical. I think it was a wicket where day was n't always an issue, it was works. "
In a Test match, it's very rare for an international team to out-bowl and beat India. In contrast to the previous New Zealand team's success in Bengaluru and Pune, they have done that double.
In the seaming situations in which New Zealand's batsmen skittled India for 46, they had thrown the initial blow in Benglauru. New Zealand's pitchers finally threw the first blow in Pune on a smith, where they countered R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar with a variety of washes, including the change. Latham was pleased with his people buying into the attack-first method.
" We've come here, and we've wanted to compete, and we've wanted to fire a shot first up," Latham said. " I definitely think we've done that in both games. In this situation, both the game and the pitcher are present. It has been extremely important to be able to score initially inning runs on the table. The bowlers evidently went to work over the last few days, which was very encouraging to see. "
In 47 innings prior to the Pune Test, Mitch Santner did n't have even a Test four-for to his name. Now he has two five-fors, in one of New Zealand's greatest wins https ://t. co/GUexHh5oRN |# INDvNZ photograph. tweets. com/vfE5MkDs3N
— ESPNcricinfo ( @ESPNcricinfo ) October 26, 2024
Despite having a painful side in the last innings, Latham praised Mitchell Santner for making 29 consecutive overs in the final one. In that marathon innings, the left-arm fingerspinner virtually unaffected and nearly triumphed over New Zealand. He finished with match images of 13 for 157- the third-best by any visiting bowling in India.
" He did a fantastic job," Latham said of Santner. " I think clearly the wickets that he got... However, I believe his back-to-back wickets, which he bowled, did remain unobserved. I think Will [ O'Rourke ] bowled one over with the new ball from that end and Mitch bowled the rest. Someone like that to travel and plate that amount of innings, to stay in a hazard for that amount of time.
" I keep trying to take him off, but he keeps taking a innings. But, I said'you may keep going'. Look, I ca n't praise him enough in terms of what he's done this game. He was just great. "
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