'Sometimes you can fall on the wrong side even if you play well': Tom Latham defends Rohit Sharma's India after historic series win

New Zealand Test captain Tom Latham does not feel that India have become a bad team overnight. He expects the hosts to make a comeback in Wankhede.

Sports Tak

• Sun • 27 Oct 2024

Rohit Sharma, Tom Latham

Highlights:

As New Zealand's designated captain in Tests, Tom Latham won his maiden series in India.

The final Test of the series will be played at Wankhede Stadium.

On October 26, India's unmatched domination at home in red-ball cricket came to an end as New Zealand won the Test series with a game to spare. The Indian batters have not been upto the mark, especially the senior players. After beating India by 113 runs in Pune, New Zealand captain Tom Latham came in Rohit Sharma-led side's defense. He lauded Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill for their positive intent in the run chase.

“The way that (Yashasvi) Jaiswal and Rohit (Sharma) and Shubman (Gill) came out and played, they certainly put us under pressure and we knew it was going to be a hard slog to get all 10 wickets,” he said in the post-match press conference.

“It was nice that it unfolded really quickly but look, India are a quality side, they don't become a bad team overnight or a bad team after a couple of games. They've got many match winners from 1 to 15 in their squad and sometimes it's the game we play, sometimes you can fall on the wrong side even if you play well. We'll certainly expect them to be at their best in Mumbai and the guys will be looking forward to that challenge,” he added.

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Latham left speechless

New Zealand created history by winning their first ever Test series on Indian soil. Latham was left speechless by the magnitude of the win and becoming first New Zealand captain to achive the feat after taking over the reigns from Tim Southee.

“I'm sort of lost for words a little bit. It's obviously an immensely proud moment for this group," the opener said.

“We're immensely proud to be in the position of winning two Test matches here. A lot of New Zealand teams have come here over the past 69 years, I think it is, and in 13 series, to be the first team to win a series over here is immensely special,” the 32-year-old added.

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New Zealand’s chance to cleansweep

The third and final Test of the series will begin on November 1 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. New Zealand will be aiming for a cleansweep to improve their win percentage in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle. They are currently fourth on the table with five wins from 10 games.