New Zealand Captain Tom Latham On Facing India: New Zealand Cricket Team captain Tom Latham has recently commented on his side’s preparation for the upcoming tour to India, saying that he is trying to give his team a bit of freedom and that they should have no fear.
New Zealand will tour India later this month for a three-Test series. The first match will be played from October 16-20 in Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium. This will be some of India’s final preparation before travelling to Australia in November for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Historically, the Kiwis have had a bad time in India when it comes to red-ball cricket. In the 36 Tests they have played in this country since their first tour to India in 1955, they have won only two Tests, the last of which came all the way back in November 1988. They have also never won a Test series here.
The Black Caps are coming off a 2-0 Test series loss to Sri Lanka last month. The whitewash in that series resulted in veteran bowler Tim Southee stepping down from captaincy and Latham taking charge.
Now looking to find success in India as they have never before, Tom Latham and Co. have arrived in India for the three-match series.
New Zealand Captain Tom Latham On Facing India
Speaking to the media just days before the first match, the 32-year-old skipper said that he and his team will try to play some fearless cricket against the mighty Indian Cricket Team, saying,
“From my point of view, it’s about trying to continue doing the good stuff we’ve been doing, trying to put my spin on things. It’s an exciting challenge going over to India, and once we can go over there, hopefully [we can] play with a bit of freedom, a bit of no fear, and try and take it to them. If we do that, hopefully, gives ourselves a good chance.”
Latham then went on to discuss how he believes New Zealand can put India under pressure.
“Think in India; we’ve seen teams that have done well out there in the past have been quite aggressive towards them, especially with the bat; they’ve looked to play a few shots, but also put them under pressure, which is really important over there, rather than sitting and waiting for something to happen. We’ll decide on how we want to play when we get over there, but guys have got plans around how they like to approach things, and hopefully we can fine-tune those,” he said.
India is a formidable Test side at home, having not lost a series at home since 2012 against England. They recently crushed Bangladesh 2-0 in a Test series. The second match of that series saw two days being washed away by rain, but the Indian Cricket Team still found a result.
After the first India vs New Zealand Test in Bengaluru, the second will be played from October 24 to 28 in Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium. The third and final Test will be played on November 1-5 in the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Check Out: New Zealand Captain Tom Latham On Facing India
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