The New Zealand opener, Tom Latham, reckons that the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli will be raring to make a mark in the second Test. Still, the Kiwi bowlers will be eyeing to troubled the latter with the sideways movement. Kohli had an indifferent tour of New Zealand so far. He was out for 2 and 19 in the first Test in Wellington.

Talking to the media persons on Thursday, Latham said, “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. He has done it for a long time and done it in all conditions. If the surface is conducive to the sideways movement we will try and exploit that.”

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Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami might have had a below-par outing in the Wellington Test, but Latham said they remain world-class bowlers, and the team would certainly be wary of them.

Talking about the Indian bowlers, Latham said, “We have played those guys really well in the first Test. But they are World-class performers and we will be wary of them. 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 Hagley Oval pitch will have bounce, and Tom expects Wagner to be more than a handful. He also feels that Day 1 will play a crucial role in Christchurch.

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Elaborating about the same, Latham said, “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.”