ICC World Cup 2019 | Ross Taylor confident of tackling Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav
Ross Taylor has stated that he is confident New Zealand will be able to tackle the spin threat of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav when they will take on India today. India had defeated New Zealand in their own turf earlier this year but the Kiwis decimated India in the warm-up match.
India had toured New Zealand for a five-match ODI series earlier this year but the series ended up completely one-sided contrary to expectations. India had defeated New Zealand by a margin of 4-1, however, the fans were in for another surprise in the warm-up encounter between the two sides. Virat Kohli and co. were skittled out for as less as 179 runs, a target which was chased down by their counterparts without breaking a sweat.
In today’s encounter at the World Cup, the same sides will face each other once again at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham. The short boundaries will pose a threat for the spinners and there might be some help for the pacers, a rarity at the venue, due to the moisture. Given the conditions and the familiarity of New Zealand batsmen with the Indian spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, Ross Taylor implied that the duo will be under pressure.
“We’ve faced India a lot in recent times and had some success against them. Obviously, they are two world class spinners but I think we’ve had success at different stages. The shorter boundaries sometimes can play on the minds of the spinner,” he said at the pre-match press conference, reported PTI.
Shikhar Dhawan is ruled out for about three weeks after he suffered an injury against Australia. The opener roared back to form with a century in that game and Taylor reckoned that the Delhi batsman’s loss will come as a big blow for India.
“Obviously Shikhar is a big loss to India. The presence, he plays very well at ICC tournaments and has a very good record over here. He and Rohit Sharma have a very good partnership, and I think they complement each other well because they’re right and left-handed,” expressed the 35-year-old.
Taylor played for Nottinghamshire in the recently-ended County season and is well-versed with the venue. The Wellington player remarked that the loss of a left-hander for India will not bode very well for the side given the short boundaries.
“A lot of these grounds in the UK have a short boundary to one side, and if you’ve got two right handers or two left handers, you can’t exploit it as much. As we see, it’s traditionally a short boundary here. If that is the case, then hopefully we can exploit it with the right, left-handers, as I am sure India and other teams that are playing here will try and do,” Taylor signed off.