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Ross Taylor has been a pivotal batsman for New Zealand across all the formats. Scored tonnes of runs with his trademark shots—slog sweeps and fills. Despite being a captain of the New Zealand team, his performance remained consistent in test formats.
Ross Taylor, New Zealand’s Pillar
In the mid-2000s, he came into New Zealand’s team in search of a great batting line-up. In his 3rd ODI, he hammered a great knock of 128 runs against Sri Lanka in Nappier. Following on with 84 runs against Australia in Hobart, and that too with a better strike rate. He quenched the thirst for a better batting line-up after mass departures from the team, and he played some great knocks in these initial years against the world-class bowling attack.
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Leaving a mark in Test Cricket
Ross Taylor made his test debut in 2008 against South Africa, where he struggled with the bounce of Johannesburg and Centurion. He was dropped in the next test match against Bangladesh but then returned in style against England with four fifties in three Tests, one of them his first century, 120. Later in the return series, after 2 months, he scored his best 154*, but unfortunately, New Zealand lost the match due to getting scrambled in the 2nd inning.
After 10 months, again he scored 150+ against India in Napier.
The Responsibility of Leading New Zealand
Ross Taylor got the opportunity to lead New Zealand in an ODI series against Sri Lanka in 2010, as Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum opted out for captaincy. In his 13-match captaincy stint, he maintained an average under 50. He converted some great rare wins against Sri Lanka and Australia. Sooner his captaincy was taken away due to controversies about him not aligning with the thoughts of Mike Hesson, the coach of the New Zealand team then.
Middle-Order wonders
Ross did not get the chance to tour for South Africa; after that, he returned in the home series against England. Sooner he emphasised his importance in the middle order by scoring 495 runs in five innings against the West Indies. He became one-half of what Mcculum called “the best three-four punch in world cricket” alongside Kane Williamson.
In 2015, Ross Taylor scored three ODI hundreds in three innings against India and Pakistan; he stayed consistent in the 2015 World Cup rather than producing large numbers. of runs. Still, afterward Taylor scored two hundred, a fifty and two forties against England, followed by a hundred in Zimbabwe.
Return of Dominance
In 2015, after the World Cup, Ross Taylor played a test match against Australia at WACA, where he scored his career-best 290. In the mid-2016 tour of Zimbabwe, his scores were 173, 124, and 67, all unbeaten, in the two Tests. In 2019, he added a third double-century to his tally, 200 against Bangladesh.
During the four-year cycle of Kane Williamson’s captaincy, Ross was a crucial man on the Onde-Day side. In 2018, one of his finest innings came against England, when he scored an unbeaten 181 in a big chase, batting on one leg due to an injury. At the 2019 World Cup, he was the main aspect of New Zealand’s impressive semi-final victory over India with a fine fifty in a difficult, underpressure match.
Ross entering T20s
Ross Taylor played 3 seasons of IPL with RCB, scoring 150 runs in every 100 balls when they were called test players playing the short format. His time with Delhi Daredevils was not very successful in the IPL when he joined them.
He then also featured in the CPL for five seasons with four different teams.
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