New Zealand’s chances of delivering a famous series whitewash in India will depend on how well they adapt to the Mumbai pitch, coach Gary Stead said.
The tourists thrashed India by eight wickets in the series opener in Bengaluru before winning the second match in Pune by 113 runs on Saturday, ending their opponents’ home streak of 18 successive series triumphs stretching back to 2012.
The last time India were blanked in a home series was in 2000 when they lost 2-0 to South Africa.
“A series win in itself is incredible, but what we want to do is keep trying to get better every game, and we’re going to different circumstances now,” Stead told New Zealand media.
Another victory would improve the Black Caps’ chances of reaching the World Test Championship (WTC) final next year he added.
However, Stead highlighted the challenge of getting accustomed to the Wankhede Stadium’s red clay pitch after playing on black soil surfaces in the two opening victories.
India beat New Zealand by 70 runs at the venue in the semi-finals of last year’s Cricket World Cup and thrashed them by 372 runs when they met there in the longest format in 2021.
“The red clay is very different, so we’re going to have to adapt quickly,” he added. “Our next two trainings are going to be important but for the WTC itself, there’s no doubt one more win would certainly help us.”
New Zealand, who won the WTC title in 2021, are fourth in the standings and must beat India and overcome England in three tests at home next month to boost their hopes of finishing in the top two.
“The first time we were in the situation of qualifying for the first WTC final, we had to win four tests on the bounce and we managed to,” Stead added.
“Hopefully that’s something we can lean on and say, ‘we’ve done it before, here’s an opportunity to perhaps do something very special again’.”
The third test begins in Mumbai on Friday.
(Reuters)
