New Zealand captain Tom Latham expressed immense joy after his team's historic series whitewash over India. The win was particularly significant following their recent series loss to Sri Lanka. Latham commended his team's adaptability in adjusting to the varying conditions at each venue during the three-match Test series.
New Zealand clinched a 25-run victory in the third Test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on October 3rd. Key contributions from Ajaz Patel, who claimed a 10-wicket match haul, and Will Young, who scored two half-centuries, were instrumental in securing the series whitewash.
Tom Latham dwells in euphoria after clean sweep against India
In a post-match presentation, New Zealand captain Tom Latham reflected on New Zealand's historic series sweep against India and also heaped praise on his team's performance throughout the three-match Test series. He commended his players for their outstanding contributions at crucial junctures, which ultimately led to the historic series win.
"Very ecstatic. Looking back at the start of the series to now be in this position, the boys have done a fantastic job over the last three Test matches. We are pretty happy," Latham said.
"Just being able to adapt to each grounds, I wouldn't say it's been a one way of doing things. The seamers did a great job in Bangalore. different guys stood up at different times and that's the beauty of a team sport. When you look at the scores, it wasn't necessarily big runs, but it was contributions were looking for," he further added.
'We could have only dreamt of being in this position when we turned up here three weeks ago'
Tom Latham revealed that whitewashing India was a dream come true for his team. He acknowledged the favorable toss results in challenging Indian conditions as a contributing factor to their success. Additionally, Latham credited the recent World Cup victory of the New Zealand women's team as a source of inspiration for the men's team.
"Not a lot (changed), we didn't play that bad over there (in Sri Lanka). We fell on the right side of a couple of tosses, which is important in these conditions. We had the belief that we had enough runs on the board. We came here, we bowled really well this morning," Latham stated.
"When you are chasing a score on a tricky wicket, runs on the board is always important. Girls winning the World Cup was fantastic. But, to be in this position, we could have only dreamt of being in this position when we turned up here three weeks ago," the New Zealand captain signed off.
India faced a challenging target of 147 runs in the second innings of the Test match. The team lost five early wickets, leaving them struggling at 29 runs. Rishabh Pant provided a glimmer of hope with a quickfire 64 runs off 57 balls, including nine fours and a six. However, after Pant's dismissal, India's momentum stalled, and they ultimately fell short of the target. Ajaz Patel's impressive six-wicket haul in the fourth innings was instrumental in New Zealand's victory.
