Mumbai: Since October, New Zealand cricket has been on a roll. The women’s team won the 2024 T20 World Cup in the UAE. On the same day, the Tom Latham-led men’s team beat India by eight wickets in Bengaluru to get their first Test win in the country since 1988.
It was followed by them ending India’s 18-series winning streak at home in Pune with a 113-run victory. Now, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, New Zealand scripted history with a 25-run win over India to hand the Rohit Sharma-led side their first-ever 3-0 clean sweep in Test series at home since South Africa did so in 1999/2000.
The magnitude of what New Zealand achieved left skipper Tom Latham delighted. “Very, very ecstatic. Looking back at the start of the series and to be in this position. Boys have done a very good job and to finally to do it here in Mumbai, we were challenged with bat and ball.
“So, very happy. It was just being able to adapt to each ground. There is no one way of doing things – the seamers did the job in Bangalore, different guys stood up at different times. More contributions we were looking for,” said Latham after the match.
After Santner, who took 13 wickets in Pune, was ruled out due to a side strain in Mumbai, it was Ajaz’s turn to come good in Mumbai by picking 11 wickets and spin New Zealand to a memorable win.
All of this coming in India was hard to imagine after New Zealand lost 2-0 to Sri Lanka in September, but Latham & Co bossed the key moments to get their best-ever moment in Test cricket.
“Last week it was Mitch, this time it was Ajaz. We wanted to come here and try and fire a few shots. Tried to be aggressive with the bat, be proactive and with the ball, keep it simple. I don’t think we played all that bad over there (in SL).
“Fell on the right side of the toss in these conditions and put enough runs on the board. When you are chasing a target on a tricky wicket, it is important to have runs on the board. Girls winning the World Cup was fantastic, being in this position, we can only brag once we get to this position,” concluded Latham.
(IANS)
