New Zealand captain Tom Latham on Tuesday conceded that beating a “well-rounded” India would be an enormous task but said his team is ready to face the challenge over the course of a three-match Test series, beginning from Wednesday. The presence of a host of experienced batters and bowlers, Latham said, makes India a formidable opponent. “You obviously look at the spinners when you come over these conditions. But they've got an equally good seam attack in Bumrah, Siraj, Akash Deep, who's played the last couple of Tests against Bangladesh. So just a well-rounded side,” Latham said in the pre-match press meet on Tuesday.
“From a batting point of view. You have a lot of match winners who can take a game away from you pretty quickly.
“We're looking forward to the challenge. Hopefully, we can lean back on the experiences that we've had here the last couple of times that we've toured,” he added.
In that context, Latham said the Kiwis will miss the presence of former captain Kane Williamson, who has been ruled out of the early part of this tour owing to a groin injury.
“It's disappointing not to have Kane here. Fingers crossed he'll be ready as soon as possible. I think Youngie (Will Young) will play. He'll bat at three. He's batted all over the order. I guess it's his opportunity to put his hand up.
“Yeah, obviously, disappointing when you miss a senior guy like Kane, but it gives opportunities for other guys to put their hand up,” he said.
However, Ben Sears getting ruled out because of a knee injury has opened up a chance for out of form veteran Tim Southee to get a place in the eleven.
“Absolutely. I think last time they played a Test here, Tim took 7 for 60. Obviously, Ben Sears has been ruled out, so I guess if we do end up going with the three seamers, then obviously Tim will come right into the equation.” Latham admitted that the build-up to this series was not ideal after a 0-2 series defeat against Sri Lanka, but hoped to carry over the learning from that contest.
“Obviously, results weren't ideal in Sri Lanka. I think that first Test was a reasonably small margin in terms of the defeat. But we actually did a lot of good stuff in that tour.
“And, yeah, I guess you come here to India, it's slightly different conditions. That wicket at Galle didn't offer a lot from a bowling point of view,” he noted.
Latham is no stranger to captaincy but being in the hot seat on a permanent basis from the three-match series against India excites the Canterbury man.
The 32-year-old was handed the skipper's arm band after Southee stepped down from the role after a poor away series against Sri Lanka.
“It's obviously a huge, exciting privilege for me to be in this position. But regardless whether I'm captain or not captain, I'm trying to perform my role as best as I can.
"That's not going to be any different being captain,” said Latham. PTI UNG 7/21/2024 PDS PDS
source https://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/tom-latham-looking-forward-to-challenge-of-beating-well-rounded-india-6794487
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