New Zealand’s new captain said the team would be looking to exert pressure on India to overcome their dominance

(Cricket news) India has won 18 consecutive home test series in the past 12 years, clearly showing their home dominance against the opposition like England, Bangladesh, Australia, Sri Lanka, and South Africa. Losing just 4 of 57 home matches demonstrated their consistency along with the team’s transition since 2012. 

Their recent wins against England and Bangladesh, where they brutally destroyed the opponent with a 4-1 and a clean sweeping 2-0, respectively, helped them to be at the top of the WTC chart. India was scheduled to play 15 World Test Championship cycle’s 15 tests of 4 series this year, where they have already conquered the two nations and 2 are yet to face them. New Zealand will be the first on October 16, when the opening test will begin in Bengaluru. 

In complete contrast, New Zealand has had a forgettable season of just 2 victories of 6 tests, which found them in the 6th spot on the WTC table. New Zealand was scheduled to play a one-off test (not in the WTC cycle) against Afghanistan in Noida, India but the match was washed out, which might have had a significant effect on their 2-0 loss to Sri Lanka in Galle under the leadership of Tim Southee. 

But since he resigned from the role, Tom Latham has been put in the capacity who had earlier led the Blackcaps on 9 occasions as the deputy of Kane Williamson from 2020-2022. He must remember that New Zealand has won just two times in the longest format on Indian soil, in 1969 in Nagpur and 1988 in Mumbai, where they will play the final test of the 3-match test series. 

But Latham’s approach of no fear and exerting pressure on the home team completely defies New Zealand’s recent performances, one of the home series loss against Australia and the away series loss to Sri Lanka. Latham said they did good things too on these tours but the result did not end up in their favour, and now would like to collect all the positives and put in new strategies to tackle the test kings in India. 

Tom Latham would face a tricky selection situation ahead of his first assignment as the permanent test captain of whether to include Tim Southee in the XI or prefer the young Will O’Rourke and Ben Sears or the experienced Matt Henry in a nation where Tim Southee has taken 20 wickets in 5 test matches with an average of 28.70 and his most recent 7-wicket haul in Bengaluru where the first test is due to happen. 

Latham’s statement on the topic suggests that he would count on Southee’s experience against India following the absence of Kane Williamson for the opening test, who’s been a cornerstone of New Zealand’s XI for a decade now, due to a chronic strain, especially in India, ahead of Will O’Rourke’s recent performance or Ben Sears’ pace. He also wants his bowlers to execute what they can do the best and play as their own leaders, which would help the team to shadow the opponent’s dominance and the result can be in New Zealand’s favour. 

Also visit: TOM LATHAM OPTS FOR AN AGGRESSIVE MINDSET AGAINST THE HOME TEST DOMINANTS