Tom Latham. (Source – Getty Images)
The Bengaluru pitch was under covers for the majority of the time due to heavy rain in the city in the last couple of days, ahead of the first Test between India and New Zealand. India had to call off their practice session on the penultimate day. The rain is expected to affect the first Test in the first three days, if not all days. Speaking on the same, the newly-appointed New Zealand captain Tom Latham stated that he expects the pacers to enjoy bowling in overcast conditions.
New Zealand are coming to the series following a 2-0 white-wash at the hands of Sri Lanka. None of their plans worked there and after the embarrassment, Tim Southee stepped down as captain. Spin played a huge role in Sri Lanka which bothered the visitors but according to Latham, pacers will make the most of the conditions in Bengaluru.
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“Yeah, certainly wasn’t expecting the weather that we’ve had over the last couple of days since arriving here. And looking at the forecast, it obviously does look sort of similar to what we’ve got today. So, obviously wicket being under covers for a longer duration, and it not necessarily being as hot as what we would usually expect here. So that potentially brings the fast bowlers into play,” Latham was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
“It’s hard to say because I haven’t really had a look at the wicket in terms of a team that we play. But, yeah, we’ll obviously cover both bases [spin and pace] depending on when we see the pitch tomorrow,” he added.
Hopefully, it offers a little bit more here in India for the seamers: Latham
Latham assessed what went wrong for the Kiwis in Sri Lanka and expects that the surface at M Chinnaswamy Stadium will have something in it for the pacers. Notably, Pune and Mumbai will host the second and third Test respectively, where he expects the spinners to come into play.
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“So hopefully it offers a little bit more here in India for the seamers. And then, you know, potentially later on in the next couple of Test matches, spin might play a little bit more of a factor,” Latham said.