New Zealand have started off well by winning the opening ODI but their star batsman Ross Taylor feels India have a good chance to bounce back in the second game here on Wednesday as conditions are more likely to favour the visitors.
Taylor believes it will only get tougher from here for the Black Caps. “It was a great start for us, a great all-round team performance on Sunday. We all performed our roles exceptionally well and carried our form from the West Indies series, especially the T20s,” said Taylor. “But India are a very good side and their whole team has got a balance to it. Being the number one team in the world in ODIs, I’m sure they’ll come back in the series.”
“Hamilton’s the slowest wicket we have. So it’ll be a bit more to their liking. We’ve two matches here. The wicket plays low compared to the bouncy Napier wicket. But we know the conditions better and we’ve played here a couple times this season. So hopefully we can play accordingly,” he added, stressing about the conditions at Seddon Park.
It’ll not just be the pitch alone as it has been raining consistently in Hamilton for two days ahead of the match. The forecast for Wednesday too is cloudy with showers in between, so a full game is looking uncertain at this point. When asked if the pitch is good enough for a 300-plus score like the last ODI versus West Indies here, should there be a full game, Taylor replied, “Obviously weather will play a big part in that. Duckworth/lewis method too because it looks like there’ll be a few showers tomorrow.”
“It’ll be a bit patchy but obviously we’ll talk among ourselves and play accordingly. D/l hasn’t been favourable to us in the past, so let us wait and see what happens,” he added. Taylor was instrumental in helping New Zealand set a platform for a final assault on the Indian bowlers and reach 292/7 in their 50 overs.
He scored his 25th ODI half-century at Napier and put on 121 runs for the third wicket with Kane Williamson, who also got a fifty. “I’d like to carry on my good form. A couple of times against the West Indies, I got run out, but I’m comfortable where I’m right now with my batting. My role is to bat in that middle order and lay a platform for the guys coming through,” said Taylor.