India Has Been A Fantastic Side And It Will Be A Tough Opposition In WTC Final, Says Ross Taylor

Jun 16, 2021 at 3:17 PM

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India Has Been A Fantastic Side And It Will Be A Tough Opposition In WTC Final, Says Ross Taylor

Ross Taylor on Tuesday said India has set the bar really high and considering their bench strength, it will be an extremely tough battle for his team during the World Test Championship final beginning June 18.

New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor believes that it will be a daunting task to tame the Virat Kohli-led side, when they meet in the World Test Championship final beginning June 18 in Southampton on Friday.

Ross Taylor: REUTERS/Ross Setford.
Ross Taylor: REUTERS/Ross Setford.

Ross Taylor: India Has Been A World No. 1 Fantastic Side

In a career spanning over a decade-and-a-half, Ross Taylor is New Zealand’s most-capped cricketer with 442 international matches across all formats.

The 37-year-old is also his country’s leading run-scorer in international cricket and is just four runs shy of recording 18,000 international runs. Ross Taylor will be playing his 108th Test for New Zealand when New Zealand meets India at Southampton.

“You go through the Indian line-up, all world-class players all through and whatever side they do decide to go with, they will leave out some world-class players as well. We know whatever XI we face will be very tough,” Ross Taylor said during a virtual press conference.

“India has been a world no. 1 side and they have kept the bar really high for a long period of time, everyone in the world had to catch up to and I don’t see any difference, yes we had a couple of Tests here but playing India in home, away or neutral venue will be a tough opposition.”

Shubman Gill and Ishant Sharma in action in the intra-squad practice match on Saturday (Twitter/BCCI)
Shubman Gill and Ishant Sharma in action in the intra-squad practice match on Saturday (Twitter/BCCI)

Ross Taylor said India has a balanced side and their depth has been amazing.

“India has been a fantastic side for a long period of time, not only the batters but also the bowlers. They won against Australia during a home summer, it was great to watch,” he said.

“They had a lot of success over here as well. I am sure in their warm-up games and bowling at the nets, they would have enjoyed the swing and bounce that the duke ball has. I am sure their warm-up game would have been a lot like playing a Test match.”

Ishant Sharma(3/36) shone with the ball in the India intra-squad practice match in Southampton before the WTC final. Openers Shubman Gill (85 off 135 balls) and Rishabh Pant (121* off 94 balls) shone with the bat. Ravindra Jadeja scored an unbeaten 54 off 76 balls in India’s intra-squad practice match at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. With the ball, Mohammed Siraj impressed with figures of 2/22 on the third day of the four-day practice match.

Ross Taylor: Ideal Preparation Having Two Tests Against England In These Conditions

While India didn’t get any game time, New Zealand geared up for the WTC final with a rare Test win in England during a two-match series. Ross Taylor termed it as an “ideal preparation”.

“It is an ideal preparation having two tests against England in these conditions, we are very lucky to manage to get these two matches and obviously the guys got some match preparation in these conditions, can’t think of anything better,” he said.

“Playing England in these conditions was a great Test, we learned a lot but as with everything in cricket, whatever you do first, you gotta do well and the team that puts the best foot forward will go a long away to sitting out in what hopefully is a great series.”

“…the whole New Zealand side is excited and it is going great occasion to be playing against India who has been world no 1 for 5-6 years. They going to be really hard opposition to play against but at the same time we are looking forward to that.”

New Zealand’s Tom Latham holds the winners’ trophy. (Photo | AP)
New Zealand’s Tom Latham holds the winners’ trophy. (Photo | AP)

Asked if New Zealand will be invited for longer Test series after their achievement of reaching the WTC final, Taylor said: “As players, we love playing Test cricket and we would love to play three-match series but if it was a difference between playing a white ball series and playing just two-test series, we definitely take two-test series, it is better than nothing.

“It is a moving base world cricket at the moment with COVID and quarantines and bubbles and things like that, so being realistic, with a 3 or 4 match series, I never played one of them. I can’t see it happening in future but hopefully we can play more three-match series to test ourselves.”

Tom Latham led the New Zealand team to a memorable 1-0 Test series triumph in the two-match series against hosts England, in the absence of injured Kane Williamson, which is their first in the UK since 1999.

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