ZCZC
BSP-20
CRICKET-WC-TAYLOR
I thought I was in Dhaka or Chittagong: Taylor
DHAKA, June 6, 2019 (BSS) – The Oval turned out to be a piece of ‘Bangladesh’ when the Tigers played against New Zealand on Wednesday, forcing Kiwi senior batsman Ross Taylor doubted the match was played at neutral territory.
‘Tigers Roar’ read one of the banners in the crowd and it was not wrong. The Oval was a sea of red and green, a packed house whose passion and decibel levels in this match could easily be compared with the match being held in Dhaka or Chittagong.
Apart from a supporter dressed as a Kiwi, New Zealand support was hard to find. A lone cry of ‘Ki-wi, Ki-wi’ tried vainly to compete with the full-throated chants of ‘Bangladesh, Bangladesh’.
“Bangladesh fought all the way to the end and I think the way the crowd got into it, I thought at times while we were out there, I thought I was in Dhaka or Chittagong,” Taylor was quoted in ICC website.
“It was amazing to be a part of and I thought just fantastic for the tournament to have such a close game.”
“We know what we’re going to expect when we go to Dhaka, there are going to be great crowds and great support. But I thought it was fantastic. I thought the way they got behind both teams, that’s what World Cups are all about,” he said, showering praise on Tigers fans.
“Quite often when you do play a neutral game, there can be a little lull on the crowd, and there were a lot of Kiwis out there that were giving us a lot of support.”
“It all bodes well for a good World Cup, and just the game in general. It was played in the right spirit, and you know, it all bodes well for a good tournament.”
Ross Taylor became the third New Zealander after Brendon McCullum and Daniel Vettori to play 400 internationals across all formats and celebrated with a match-winning 82, which helped his side win the match against Bangladesh by two wickets in a nail-biter.
New Zealand’s victory with 17 balls to spare completed a see-sawing encounter that was the closest game of the tournament so far.
But the outcome could have been all so different had Bangladesh wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim successfully run out Kane Williamson rather than knocking the bails off with his elbow as he gathered Tamim Iqbal’s throw from mid-on with the Black Caps skipper well short of the crease.
That would have left New Zealand 61-3 in the 12th over with one of the world’s great batsmen back in the pavilion.
And it would have left Taylor, who called his captain for the run despite Williamson’s obvious reticence, with a hefty responsibility to rescue a tricky situation.
Instead, Williamson survived to share in a vital 105-run stand with Taylor, the 13th time this pair of world-class performers have put up three figures together.
In the course of his knock at The Oval, Taylor passed 1,000 ODI runs against Bangladesh.
“I always do love batting with Kane, and he’s great to be batting with, but we had a bit of luck.
“We were put under pressure, and we came out with the right result and I think that bodes well for the tournament.”
BSS/SMP/SMM/1650 hrs