Tom Latham talks up India’s chances ahead of Mumbai Test

New Zealand captain Tom Latham is expecting India to be “at their best” for the third Test in Mumbai, which starts this Friday.

India have lost the opening two Tests of the series to the Black Caps, handing them their first home series loss since 2012.

“I think India are a quality side,” Latham said on Thursday.

“Things obviously haven’t gone the way that they wanted over the last couple of weeks.

“But I said last week it doesn’t make them a bad team overnight.

“They’ve got superstars from one to 15 in their squad, and we expect them to be at their best tomorrow.

“I certainly don’t think that they have any chinks [in their armour].

“They’re a quality team, and it’s going to be another great battle.”

Cricket betting sites have India as heavy favourites at -333.33 despite their recent failures, with New Zealand at much longer odds of +375.

Latham shared that his side is not focusing on victory in the third Test, but instead will be looking to win key moments.

“This is another exciting opportunity presented to us this week,” he said.

“We have done a lot of good stuff over the last couple of weeks, but you go into every Test with the focus of trying to win key moments, not necessarily focusing on the result.

“That’s the byproduct of putting things together back-to-back, good sessions back-to-back.

“This is a different pitch, and these are different conditions.

“Also, it’s a lot hotter out there.

“Another really exciting opportunity and another one the guys are looking forward to.”

Should New Zealand manage to win the final Test of the series, it would be only the second time in history that India have been whitewashed at home.

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