SL v NZ | Have to show the fighting spirit the team is renowned for, claims Ross Taylor
Ross Taylor has stated that the New Zealand team has a history of recovering from points of disadvantage through utmost determination and will be aiming to do the same in the second Test against Sri Lanka. He further talked about the first match and their mindset ahead of the second game in Colombo.
The last time New Zealand had toured the island country of Sri Lanka in 2012, the Test series had followed the same trajectory as the one ongoing has undertaken so far. After chasing down the Black Caps’ total in the first match at the Galle to take a lead in the series, the Kiwis had put up a valiant fight at the P Sara Oval to end up drawing the series.
New Zealand would be hoping history repeats itself and so will be Ross Taylor for he was the pick of the batsmen in that match seven years ago. He had put up scores of 142 and 74 in the two innings to help set up a steep target which the hosts had fallen well short of. However, all of it is in the past and the 35-year-old believes they’ll have to put in a good shift to emulate their past achievement.
"P Sara is a ground that we've had some success in the past and hopefully we can replicate that. It's always nice to come back to a ground where you have had some success. But at the same time it's a different game and different circumstances. Being 1-0 down in the series we need to get our first win in the test championship. I'm sure Sri Lanka will be doing their best to sĪtop that," Taylor was quoted saying by Times Now.
Playing in their first ever World Test Championship match, New Zealand put in decent batting displays but a brilliant century by the opposition skipper Dimuth Karunaratne in the fourth innings saw the Lions chase down the target of 268 with six wickets in hand. However, he remained confident of his team’s capabilities to give a suitable response.
"Very disappointed to lose the game. We tried everything but just weren't good enough. We have been in this situation many times before, been 1-0 down and have come back strong. That's all we can ask for, to show the fighting spirit the team is renowned for and hopefully we can put this very good Sri Lanka side under some pressure," Taylor stated.
The 2012 Test in Colombia had also seen Todd Astle make his debut in the all-whites for his country and could be called up to the team after Mitchell Santner failed to impress at Galle. The 32-year-old has only accumulated three more caps since, but head coach Gary Stead has hinted the possibility of him joining Ajaz Patel and Will Somerville in the spin attack.
"I don't imagine there's going to be too many changes from what we saw at Galle, we expect a pitch that will turn and offer more to the spinners than the seamers. We've got other spin options with Todd Astle so we'll consider all options," Stead said.
