NZ skipper Tom Latham hails historic 3-0 clean sweep over India
New Zealand players celebrate as skipper Tom Latham lifts the winner’s trophy at Wankhede yesterday. Pic/Atul Kamble
New Zealand skipper Tom Latham called his team’s 3-0 clean sweep over India at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday a “massive achievement.”
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“After the first Test [in Bangalore], it was pretty special. The second one [in Pune], to win a series, was even more special. We spoke about coming here [Mumbai] and trying to adapt as much as we can. To be in this position 3-0, it’s certainly a series I’ll never forget,” Latham said during post-match press conference in reply to mid-day’s query on whether the whitewash over India was NZ cricket’s biggest achievement.
“I’m sort of lost for words a little bit in terms of what’s happened over the last three days, but also the last sort of three weeks. If you’d asked me at the start of the tour whether I’d be in this position, I would have liked to be in this position, but to be here now and play the cricket that we’ve played is really special and I’m really proud of the group,” Latham remarked.
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Latham, who scored match-winning 86 in the Pune Test, stressed that it’s celebration time for his team. “We’ll celebrate as a group together tonight [Sunday] and the next couple of days before we head home. It’s certainly been an amazing series to be a part of. It will sink in a little bit more when we get home, once the dust settles a little bit. It’s been a fantastic achievement. I’d say it’s one of the best,” he said.
When asked whether he was surprised by India’s performance in the series, Latham said: “India play aggressively and tend to take the game on a little bit more. That’s something we spoke about and something that we tried to plan for and even today [Sunday] with Rishabh [Pant] still there, I certainly didn’t believe that the game was over.
“They [India] have match-winners throughout their side and they’ve been successful playing the way that they’ve been playing for a long period of time. We managed to fall on the right side of a couple of tosses and in doing that, we managed to put runs on the board in the last couple of games,” Latham added.
Latham lavished praise on Player of the series Will Young, 31, who replaced experienced Kane Williamson as he was injured, scoring 244 in the series. Young played a crucial role in his team’s 25-run win in the Mumbai Test in which he scored 71 and 51.
“The way he played here on a wicket that certainly wasn’t easy for batters, he controlled our innings really nicely. He trusted his defence, he took brave options, he tried to fire a shot at them and he played fantastically well and certainly deserves the awards that he got,” said the NZ skipper.
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