Veteran New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor has said that any Test team playing against India at home will always be underdog. New Zealand will play two-match Test series vs India starting November 25.
The No.4 batter has emphasised on adapting to the Indian conditions in an importany series for his team.
“Anytime you play India at home, you are going to be the underdog regardless of whether they are number one or where they sit in international cricket at the moment. They are resting a couple of players but are still a formidable side.
“They know these conditions really well. The way we are going to be adapting to these conditions is going to be the key going forward. These conditions are a lot foreign to us but some of the guys have played many a times here before. Hopefully, we will be using that experience to make things slightly easier but we know it’s going to be tough,” said Taylor in a virtual interaction on Sunday.
Taylor didn’t have a good average while playing in India. He scored just 382 runs in 15 innings with an average of 25.46 in Tests in India.
“Definitely going to be a challenge. I don’t think there’s probably a harder assignment than playing India at home or Australia away. They are the two toughest challenges in Test cricket at the moment. We definitely know that we are the underdogs and will be looking forward to putting a good performance.”
Taylor is coming off a long break from the game, after the the World Test Championship final against India at Southampton in June.
Talking about his preparation for the upcoming Test series, Taylor remarked it was a mix of good and annoying.
“Probably bit of both. I have enjoyed spending time at home with the kids. When you are coming to India, you want to play as much cricket as you want to and can as well. Our preparation so far has been fantastic. Been a bit different as no net bowlers have come in. Facing our bowlers as preparation has been the key. Have been lining up to face a lot of spinners. They have bowled a lot of overs. Normally, you get 10-15 net bowlers of spin to practice. Slightly different but it is what it is. Interesting challenge, both on and off the field.”
New Zealand were the runners-up at the recently concluded T20 World Cup in the UAE.
However, Team India lead the three-match T20I series against the Blackcaps that is going on currently.
