Follow UsIndia suffered two consecutive losses in the three-match Test series against New Zealand to suffer their first home Test series loss in 12 years and will be up against a confident New Zealand side that will aim to complete the clean sweep in Mumbai. However, Kiwi skipper Tom Latham doesn’t believe that India have lost their edge completely - as he reminded the kind of depth the side still have.
“India are a quality side. Things obviously haven't gone the way they wanted over the last couple of weeks, but it doesn't make them a bad team overnight," Latham told reporters at the Wankhede Stadium.
"They've got superstars from (Nos) 1 to 15 in their squad and we expect them to be in their best tomorrow and again a new challenge for both teams, a new surface." "I'm sure a surface that they know well and a ground that they know well, so I certainly don't think they have any chinks — they're a quality team and it's going to be another great battle," Latham added.
He further added that his side have done pretty well to encash the opportunities presented to themselves along the way, and he hailed the team’s efforts in acclimatizing to the conditions.
“It’s another exciting opportunity presented to us this week. We have obviously done a lot of good stuff over the last couple of weeks, but I guess for us, in every Test match, you go with the focus of trying to win key moments, not necessarily focusing on the result,” Latham said.
“That’s the byproduct of putting things together, back-to-back good sessions, different pitch, different conditions.”
In 2021, New Zealand were in Mumbai when Ajaz Patel managed to bag 10 wickets in a single innings. Born in Mumbai, Ajaz moved out of the city at the age of eight to New Zealand along with his family. Hence, it was a huge moment in the spinner’s career, even though that effort came in a losing cause. Latham, however, stated that the 2021 performance was a great motivator for the spinner to do well at the venue once again.
“If you look back a few years ago, the surface out here obviously suited Ajaz pretty well in terms of what he was able to achieve. So, when you’ve had success at a ground, coming back to a venue that’s familiar and you’ve done well certainly gives you confidence.
“Ajaz did a great job in terms of how he bowled last week, just in terms of being able to tie an end up at different stages of the game. Obviously, Mitch got the rewards, but that’s just the beauty of a team sport; not every day a certain person is going to be successful, and that’s certainly what we talk about as this group,” the Kiwi captain added.
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