New Zealand vs India 2020: Ross Taylor admits restricting the visitors to a score under 350 gave Kiwis a chance

After helping New Zealand register a morale-boosting victory in the first ODI against India in Hamilton, Ross Taylor said that restricting Virat Kohli’s side to a score under 350 helped the Kiwis and gave them a chance to mount a successful run chase.

Having won the toss, New Zealand elected to bowl first at Seddon Park. India posted a hefty total of 347, courtesy of a brilliant maiden ODI century by Shreyas Iyer, along with handy contributions from KL Rahul and Kohli.

Also see – India vs New Zealand schedule

Given the poor form they’ve exhibited throughout the tour, the chase was tipped to be extremely difficult for the Kiwis, but Henry Nicholls and Martin Guptill gave them a brisk start. Taylor came in to bat at No 4. and took command of the situation by scoring a brilliant ton and guiding his team over the finish line, helping them to win their first game against India in the ongoing tour.

Taylor revealed that keeping India under 350 gave the Kiwis a fighting chance to chase down the total, whilst he also said that the left-hand-right-hand combination with Tom Latham, who scored a brilliant knock of 69 himself, came in extremely handy in the grand scheme of things.

“It was nice to get across the line. Restricting them under 350 gave us a chance. We were fortunate with the left-right hand combination and we were able to target the short leg-side boundary,” Taylor said after the match as he was adjudged Man of the Match.

“It’s been a happy hunting ground for me. It was nice to be there at the end after I got out thrice towards the end in the T20 series,” he added.