New Zealand vs India 2019: Not Just Virat, Beware of Rohit, Dhawan – Taylor
Jan 21, 2019 at 12:53 PM
New Zealand and India are set to face-off in the limited-overs series, which starts on January 23rd in Napier. Meanwhile, NZ veteran batsman, Ross Taylor has warned the hosts of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan; not just the India National Cricket Team captain, Virat Kohli. Though Virat remains to be an invariable component heading into any series, Taylor says the threat of the Indian openers would also loom over.
He’s (Kohli) the best ODI player around – Taylor
Ranked number one in the ODIs, Virat Kohli is the best player going around, reckons Taylor. He added its not easy to catch him up; the availability of both, Rohit and Shikhar shouldn’t get overlooked either. As both the countries are gearing up for the challenge, Ross Taylor said,
“He’s (Kohli) a sensational player, the best one-day player going around, easily. It’s easy to get caught up in him,” Taylor told stuff.co.nz. “You’ve got two pretty good openers at the top, Rohit (Sharma) and Shikhar (Dhawan) before he gets in.”
The past year saw Virat Kohli hammering many records; with the one of entering the 10,000 run-club in ODIs sitting at the top. Not only this, the India skipper got named as the captain of the ESPNcricinfo 2018 ODI team of the year too. Since the last year, the right-handed batsman has scored 1135 runs at an average of 112.91 in the ODIs. Not to anyone’s surprise, Rohit Sharma is second on the list. Since 2018, Rohit has hit 1215 runs at 71.47.
The left-handed batsman, Dhawan, who didn’t have the best of ODIs against Australia, sits at the fourth place with 952 runs at an average of above 45. Meanwhile, Ross Taylor did a great 2018 as well; averaging 92 in 14 matches. During the Sri Lanka ODIs as well, Ross scored a hundred in one of the three innings. His scores across three games read 54, 90 and 137.
I will have to start again against India – Taylor
Having done enough in the past year, the 34-year old said he knows he has to start from the scratch against India.
“I’ve played a few internationals now and understand my role in the team. I’ve worked on my game and try and rotate the strike early and be as busy as I can. Different shots against spinners at different stages have maybe evolved my game in a positive way,” he added.
Meanwhile, the first game of the five-match ODIs will start on Wednesday (January 23rd) in Napier.