Veteran New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor scored his third double century in Test cricket on Monday. He thrashed the Bangladeshi bowlers in all corners of the Basin Reserve and raced to his double ton at a healthy strike rate of over 90. Taylor looked very pleased after the milestone and admitted he if anyone had told it before the start of the day, he would have said you were kidding.
“If you’d told me that at the start of the day, especially how the first 10 overs went, I would have said you were kidding,” said Taylor after the conclusion of day four of the second Test.
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It was a superlative effort from Taylor, who came to the middle after New Zealand lost their openers with just eight runs on the board. He first stitched a 172-run partnership with skipper Kane Williamson and then added 216 with Henry Nicholls to help take the first-innings total to 432/6 declared.
The Kiwi batsman added “We wanted to be positive because we always knew there was a ball with your name on it. They bowled really well in the first six-seven overs, Kane and I were jumping around a bit. They bowled in the channel and put us under pressure, but we knew they had only three front-line seamers, and if we could get through that, things would get easier.”
“We knew it was a three-day Test and had to be proactive. Try and get as many runs, even if it was a 100-run lead just to speed up the game. It was on our mind and that’s how we played. Nicholls came out and played his shots, made it easier.”
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The 18th Test ton helped Taylor to become the second leading century scorer for New Zealand in Tests. He left Martin Crowe behind and Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson is number one with 20 Test centuries. Taylor admitted the record had played on his mind over the last 12 months, and that it had made things difficult for him.
“Seventeen was such a big number from when I started playing cricket, and once I got there it was a bit of a relief. Then I didn’t kick on, and it was probably a little bit in my subconscious and it played on my mind,” he revealed.
“Before this, I had a chat to our sports psych guy, Pete [Sanford], to just acknowledge it’s always going to be there. It’s nice to knock it off and just go out there and play.”
Bangladesh finished the day four at 80/3 while they are still 141 runs behind New Zealand, who will be eyeing to seal the series by winning the ongoing Test.
