Mumbai. After achieving a historic 3-0 series win against India, New Zealand captain Tom Latham on Sunday said that he will realize the importance of this achievement only after returning home. After defeating India by eight wickets in the first Test in Bengaluru, New Zealand won by 113 runs and 25 runs respectively on spin-friendly pitches in Pune and Mumbai.
Latham told the media here, “This is a big achievement. It was certainly a very special win after the first Test. Then winning the series is even more special.” “We tried to adapt as much as possible here and I will never forget winning the series 3-0,” he said. Latham said, “We will definitely celebrate this victory together tonight and this celebration will continue for the next few days after returning home.” It’s definitely been an amazing series that’s great to be a part of. This victory will seem even more important when we return home. Latham said, “This is definitely a great moment for New Zealand cricket. Probably one of the biggest series wins in New Zealand cricket. ,
We wanted to bat aggressively here: Tom Latham
New Zealand captain Tom Latham, very happy with the 3-0 sweep of the three-match Test series against India, said that his players were successful in taking advantage of the opportunity by being aggressive and active with ball and bat. Chasing 147 runs to win, the Indian team was out for 121 runs in its second innings. With this 25-run defeat, the Indian team has got a clean sweep for the first time in a Test series of at least three matches on home soil.
“Very, very happy,” Latham said at the awards ceremony after the match. The players have done a great job since the beginning of the series to reach this position. Achieving this victory in Mumbai is even more special. We were successful in meeting the challenge with bat and ball.” He said, “Our team was successful in adjusting to the conditions of every ground. The way the players adapted themselves to different situations is amazing. It is completely a team effort. In the last match, Mitch (Mitchell Santner) and in this match Ajaz (Patel) performed well. We wanted to adopt an aggressive stance here. Along with adopting an aggressive approach with the bat, we were trying to perform alert with the ball.” Before this series, New Zealand had suffered a crushing defeat of 0-2 in Sri Lanka. Latham defended the team’s performance in Sri Lanka.
He said, “I don’t think we performed poorly there. On the India tour, the toss was in our favor and we were successful in scoring runs to dominate the match. “Ajaz Patel, who became the ‘Player of the Match’ by taking 11 wickets in the match, said that he only focused on taking advantage of the pitch and was confident about the bounce of the ball. He got benefit from it.
He said, “Spin bowling is about rhythm. When you are in rhythm, you want to get the most out of it. I was feeling confident in the morning session (second day) also, but the pitch did not help much.” He said, “The ball was moving more in the afternoon session and that gave me confidence. Rishabh Pant batted brilliantly in the entire series. I had to think outside the box to get him out and I made sure to bowl with a new plan and stay ahead of him.” Will Young was chosen ‘Player of the Series’ for scoring 244 runs in three matches.
He said, “One victory in India was a big thing but winning again and again is a big thing. “I tried to keep it simple, sometimes I needed to rely on defensive play and sometimes I needed to focus on scoring runs quickly.” He said, “The memories we have made with the team on this tour will remain with us. “We enjoy each other’s company.”