"We've got 4 spinners": Tom Latham challenges India to roll out a turner

New Zealand National Cricket Team captain Tom Latham has challenged the India National Cricket Team to roll out a slow turner for the second Test match of the three-match series.

The Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune will host the second Test match from Wednesday, October 23, and the Black Caps will head into the match with a 1-0 lead.

New Zealand Beat India In 1st Test

The Rohit Sharma & Co. were stunned by the visiting team in the first Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru as they lost by 8 wickets.

New Zealand pacers looked absolutely unplayed in the first session and ran through the Indian batting order, bowling them out for 46. In response, the Kiwis showcased a batting masterclass and made sure that pushed India to the back foot.

New Zealand piled up 402 runs on the board with Rachin Ravindra smashing a brilliant ton in the match. India, on the other hand, displayed a great fight in the second innings and registered 462 runs.

They gave a target of 107 runs to the visitors to chase, which they did quite comfortably on day 5 and won their first Test in India in 36 years and only third Test overall.

Whatever we're presented with, for us it's about trying to adapt as quickly as we can - Tom Latham

Unlike the Bengaluru pitch, pacers will not get much help in the Pune track and Tom Latham is ready for it. Speaking at the pre-match press conference, the Kiwi captain said that they will try to adapt to whatever condition they will get in the second Test.

Tom Latham said that they have Ish Sodhi, Mitchell Santner, Ajaz Patel, Rachin Ravindra, and Glenn Phillips, who can do a great job on the spin-friendly tracks. He elaborated:

"Whatever we're presented with, for us it's about trying to adapt as quick as we can. If it is going to be a wicket that turns a little bit more, then we've got four spinners in our line-up, that will play into their hands, but it's (also) about to try not to go into the game with too many preconceived ideas. The surface is going to be potentially different than the one we had in Bengaluru, we need to adapt to the wicket really quickly.

“I obviously had a little bit of a think around what that may look like. (We will) try to get a little bit of information from previous games here and also the practice wickets that we're on, will hopefully be something around, or similar to what we're getting."

We celebrated what was a special performance, but - Tom Latham

Tom Latham further revealed that they celebrated the historic Test win over India and credited his players for the win. However, he made it clear that their focus has now shifted to the second Test. He said:

“(It is) very special, there is myself, Graham Dowling and John Wright, to be in this position is really special. But for me it was a team effort.

“We celebrated what was a special performance, but our attention (has) turned quickly to this game and we're trying not to rest on what happened last week, (we are) trying to take the confidence from last week and take that into this game and hopefully hit the ground running.”

“The confidence that it can bring into a side is probably the most important thing, that we can come over here and we can compete and we can do well."