NEWS
Follow UsNew Zealand captain Tom Latham heaped praises on Rachin Ravindra following the 24-year-old's heroics in the Bengaluru Test against India, which saw the Blackcaps win their first-ever Test in India after 36 years.
Ravindra struck a stroke-filled ton in the first innings and followed that up with a composed knock in the second essay that saw New Zealand claim an eight-wicket victory at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on October 20 (Sunday).
Latham believes that the composure Ravindra showed for someone so early in his Test career was exciting. "Our first two innings were outstanding, the way we were able to set the match up with the ball and apply pressure for long periods of time," Latham told reporters after this historic victory.
"With bat we managed to form a couple of key partnerships, which in the context of the match were really important. Rachin was a huge part in that. The way he played ... a 137-run stand with a number nine batsman [Tim Southee] is awesome.
"Even this morning, the way he came out with the game in the balance ... he calmed the dressing room with his composure. For a young guy in his ninth or 10th Test, to play in that fashion is exciting."
Former skipper Kane Williamson missed the first Test due to a groin injury. Latham remained mum over the veteran batter's availability, but hoped to have him back for the next Test, which starts in four day's time in Pune.
"I'm sure those conversations will be had over the next 24-48 hours, I guess anyone of Kane's calibre, if he's right and able to come back and decide, that would be obviously great," the 32-year-old said.
"But yeah, I guess selection headaches are obviously always a great thing to have from a team point of view. So, fingers crossed, he'll be right. I'm not 100% sure on his return yet, but fingers crossed he can get over here as soon as possible."
Latham, who scored 15 and 0 in Bengaluru, has already turned his attention to the Pune Test, which will get underway on October 24 onwards. A win there will see New Zealand win their first-ever Test series in India. In fact, the last time New Zealand walked away without losing the series in India was back in 2003, when the two-match series ended 0-0.
"I think we've got to shift our focus to Pune and that will be our focus for the week in terms of the approach that we want to go in with. We've built a little bit of confidence up this week," he said.
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