NZ v IND 2020: Tom Latham says New Zealand "ready" with plans to keep Kohli quiet

All eyes will be on the Indian captain as he goes about trying to return to top-form in the second Test.

Virat Kohli | GettyIt's not that he is genuinely out of form but something has been off about Virat Kohli this New Zealand tour with the Indian captain employing a very un-Kohli like, overly aggressive approach during the ODI series and then edging out twice playing expansive shots in the first Test in Wellington. 

And so having got out for low scores on a difficult surface at the Basin Reserve where India really needed him the most, Kohli will be desperate to finally come out of this rare phase in the next Test in Christchurch, beginning February 29. 

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But to keep him quiet, Black Caps opener Tom Latham said the hosts have their plans ready in place for a Hagley Oval deck expected to offer a lot of seam movement for the pacers. 

"When Virat comes out to bat we will be ready. He is a quality player and there is a reason why he is up around that No 1 rank for such a period of time," Latham told reporters on Kohli, who got out for 2 & 19 in India's disappointing ten-wicket loss. 

"He has done it for long time and done it in all conditions. If the surface is conducive to sideways movement we will try and exploit that."

But it wasn't so much Kohli's early dismissals that made a difference in the first Test as Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, two of the visitors' most gifted pacers, had a very bad outing, taking just two wickets between them on a surface where Ishant Sharma bagged a five-fer and the Kiwi pace attack didn't let any Indian batsman settle down. 

"We have played those guys really well in the first Test. But they are world-class performers and we will be wary of them," Latham said. "Certainly they would be on top of their game and if we play well it will give us a good chance. We need to be consistent for long periods."

The home team will be further boosted by the return of experienced speedster Neil Wagner, who missed the last Test due to the birth of his child. "I haven't yet seen him but when he rocks up for training he will be absolutely fizzing up to get going and obviously he will be raring to go. He has been a quality performer for a number of years for us," Latham said.

"It's something that Neil has obviously been so good at for so long and he is second to none in terms of accuracy," he added.  "He is a short guy and that makes him harder to play. If the surface is up for that plan he will be looking to go round with that."

"Generally, it's a good surface and surfaces in NZ have been on the greener side at the start and then flatten out. So we need to do well on day one."

"We have lost only one Test here. Hagley has been a happy hunting ground for us and hopefully won't be different for us as we try to play to our skills for long periods of time," Latham concluded. 

(Inputs from PTI)

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 27 Feb, 2020

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