India are very good Test side, Australia will not have it easy in BGT, says NZ skipper Tom Latham

Mumbai: His team may have beaten India rather comprehensively in two Tests of the three-match series, but New Zealand captain Tom Latham believes it would not be a cakewalk for Australia against Rohit Sharma’s side in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) next month.

India are scheduled to tour Australia for the much-hyped five-Test BGT series after a couple of weeks with a lot at stake for both teams besides World Test Championships points.

India have defeated Australia in consecutive Test series and are hoping to complete a hat-trick of series wins. But the way Rohit Sharma’s side has struggled against a New Zealand side that came into the series against India after suffering a 0-2 brownwash in Sri Lanka in the preceding series. However, the Blackcaps have made history by ending India’s 12-year dominant streak at home by winning the series.

However, Latham said India is still a very good side and Australia won’t have things easy in the BGT series. Asked what chinks in their armour should India iron out ahead of the BGT series, Latham said two defeats don’t make India a bad side.

“Well, I think India is a quality side. Things obviously haven’t gone the way they wanted over the last couple of weeks. But I said last week, it doesn’t make them a bad team overnight. They’ve got superstars, you know, from 1 to 15 in their squad, and we expect them to be at their best tomorrow. And again, a new challenge for both teams, a new surface, I’m sure a surface that they know well on a ground that they know well. So I certainly don’t think they have any chinks, you know, they’re a quality team and it’s going to be another great battle tomorrow,” said Latham.

The New Zealand captain said he is looking forward to left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel doing well on his return to the venue where he made history in 2021 by becoming only the third batter to claim all 10 opposition batters in an innings. Patel, who joined Jim Laker and Anil Kumble as the cricketer to achieve this feat, has been overshadowed by fellow left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner Mitchell Santner in the Pune Test. There are huge expectations from him this time around. Santner claimed 13 wickets in the Pune Test while Patel got only two wickets.

“Yeah, I think that’s just the beauty of being a team. Not every day is going to be your day, whether that be with the bat, whether that be with the ball. I think it’s understanding your role at a certain time. And we obviously saw last week that, Mitch bowled fantastically well on a wicket that really suited him. And obviously, you look back a few years ago, the wicket out here obviously suited AJ pretty well too, in terms of what he was able to achieve. So I think when you’ve had success at a grant, you know, coming back to a venue that’s familiar and you’ve done well certainly gives you confidence.

And like, I thought, AJ did a great job in terms of what he had he bowled last week, just in terms of being able to tie the end up at different stages of the game. And obviously, Mitch got the rewards. But, yeah, that’s just the beauty of a team sport. Not every day a certain person is going to. Going to be successful. So. And that’s certainly what we talk about as this group, is everyone chipping in at certain times. And I’m sure it’ll be the same this game,” said Latham.

–IANS