Ross Taylor said it is too early to decide World Cup favourites
New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor said that the ICC Cricket World Cup favourites cannot be decided yet because most teams are performing well.
“I think it’s still early on. The majority, all nine (other) teams are still, or maybe realistically seven teams still in the hunt,” said Taylor.
He continued that the round-robin format of the tournament gives the teams enough time to reach the semi-finals.
“I think it’s not only the way the draw works out, you know, if you can get into a bit of a roll towards the end — first and foremost, you’ve got to get into the semi-final,” stated Taylor.
When Taylor was asked what he thought about his team’s upcoming match against India, he said that their team had won a few games against them.
“We’ve faced India a lot in recent times and had some success against them,” said Taylor in an interview, “Obviously, two world-class spinners on their day. I think we’ve had success at different stages. We’ll have to wait and see what the wicket produces tomorrow.”
Taylor added that he thinks India batsman Shikhar Dhawan would affect India’s attack. Taylor continued that India cannot open with a left-right batting combination of Dhawan and batsman Rohit Sharma because of this.
“I haven’t been in the bowling meetings, but obviously Shikhar is a big loss to India. The presence, he plays very well at ICC (International Cricket Council) tournaments and has a very good record over here,” stated Taylor.
“Himself and Rohit Sharma have a very good partnership, and I think they complement each other well because they’re right and left-handed.”
Meanwhile, Taylor believes that the Black Caps also have a balanced pairing. “In terms of our line-up, I think we’ve had a similar balanced side for a long time, and when you do have a right-left hand combination, it does put pressure in different ways on the bowling opposition.”
New Zealand will play against India today at Trent Bridge. The Black Caps currently have +172 odds to win the game while India have -204 odds.
READ MORE: 22bet Review
