Kiwi batters take a leaf out of Indians in tackling spin

Pune: Being the captain of a side which has won its first Test match in India after thirty-six years, Tom Latham agreed, was special, but the New Zealand skipper was more focused on using this momentum to grab the series rather than floating in the past. 

“A win like that can give a side like this a lot of confidence, and that is probably the most important thing,” he said in the pre-match press conference on Wednesday. 

“Knowing that we can come here and compete and do well offers us a lot of self-belief. That said, last week is last week. That game is done. Our focus is on Pune, but, sure, we do have a lot of confidence from that victory.”

Part reason for New Zealand’s eight-wicket victory in Bengaluru was how their batters comfortably shuttled between attacking strokes and defensive schemes. Latham called it a fine balance, one which typically dictates the success or failure of an innings. 

"Each individual has a certain way of going about things, for us it's about trying to recognise the situation as best we can, and play accordingly,” he offered. 

“Take Rachin for example, I thought the way he played throughout that whole innings was outstanding, but I think also you to take the situations of some of the partnerships that he was involved in, the way he played was really important, he put the foot down a little bit, played a little bit more attacking at certain stages, and then obviously soaked up a little bit of pressure at times as well.”

A way in which New Zealand have been able to assert themselves, and aggressively so, is by their gratuitous use of their feet against the spinners, rather than opting for versions of the sweep shot. In fact, few teams outside the sub-continent have as many batters as adept as the Kiwis are at using their feet. 

“We've seen the Indian guys like to use their feet so we realised that’s a good option for us too,” he said. “Again, it’s about trying to apply a plan for as long as we can, and as best we can, and whether that be playing square the wicket, or playing down the ground as much as possible, it's up to each individual.”