Ross Taylor: New Zealand's unscathed batting maestro
New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor's splendid run in the limited overs format continues as he dismantled the Indian bowling attack in the first ODI at Hamilton. The right-handed batsman scored his 21st ODI hundred to help New Zealand chase a mammoth 348-run target. His unbeaten 109 made the hosts go 1-0 up in the three-match ODI series. Here's more.
Taylor was in fine touch in the first ODI
After failing to get Kiwis home thrice in the T20I series, Taylor finally added the finishing touch to the daunting chase. The 35-year-old admitted that he was particularly looking forward to finish the game, this time around. "It was nice to be there at the end after I got out thrice towards the end in the T20 series," Taylor said.
A look at how Taylor's ODI numbers rose with years
Most hundreds batting at number 4 in ODIs
Ross Taylor (NZ) - 19, AB de Villiers (SA) - 15, Aravinda de Silva (SL) - 10, Mahela Jayawardene (SL) - 9, Javed Miandad (PAK) - 7.
A bankable number 4
Taylor has also scored 1,691 runs in 31 innings at number 4 since January 2018, more than any other player at this position. Following him is Mushfiqur Rahim with 1,494 runs.
The Kiwis depend heavily on Taylor while chasing
Overall, this was the fifth occasion where Taylor registered a century in a successful run-chase batting at number 4 or lower since 2014. Highest targets successfully chased by New Zealand in ODIs: 348 v India, Hamilton, 2020*, Taylor - 109* 347 v Australia, Hamilton, 2007, Taylor - 11 337 v Australia, Auckland, 2007, Taylor - 117 336 v England, Dunedin, 2018, Taylor - 181*
Taylor would be the player to watch out for
The Indian bowlers will be wary of Ross Taylor in the upcoming do-or-die encounter as he leaves no margin for error whatsoever. Moreover, his ODI average of 63.63 against the Men in Blue at home makes him an obvious threat. Besides, India could try Yuzvendra Chahal or Navdeep Saini to tackle Taylor in the second ODI at Auckland.
