New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor on Wednesday, 5 February said their ODI side can deal with pressure situations a lot better than the Twenty20 side and that precisely is the reason they could knock down a big target in the series-opener against India.
Taylor scored his 21st hundred as New Zealand eked out a four-wicket win for a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
"It's always nice to win after a clean sweep in the T20. Obviously new personnel came in and the loss was not a hang up for them. I am sure it must have played on their minds little bit, you are human, and towards the end we lost a couple of wickets," Taylor said at the post match press conference.
India had set a tall 347 for 4, courtesy Shreyas Iyer's maiden international hundred and KL Rahul's blitz but Taylor's partnership with Tom Latham set them on course for victory.
Taylor said the dimensions of the ground helped out, but the New Zealand batsmen all contributed to the successful chase.
"That's the tough thing about playing on some of these grounds in New Zealand, not knowing what a par total is at any time. Whether at the MCG, or here or anywhere else, you always give yourself a chance. At the same time if you lose two early wickets it was going to be a tough chase,” he said.
"I had a lot of help out there. Henry Nicholls and Guptill the way they started, Tom Latham coming at five and starting that way wasn't easy. What made that chase easier for us was the left-right combination. We knew there was one short boundary and we could use that to our advantage," he added.
Taylor and Latham set a hectic pace, taking advantage of India's lack of penetration in the middle overs. The duo attacked and put pressure on the fielding as well as the bowling, and the run-rate climbed.
Taylor said he was determined to finish the game after the tie during the T20I.
"It's not about going there and smacking every single ball but playing good shots. Trying to have those big overs every now and then, soaking up when they did bowl well,” he said.
"Today Shami bowled exactly the same ball and I inside edged down to fine leg or the keeper. Small margins, it could have been two different results but that is cricket. I guess that's why we love the game. Just little things – it went our way today and didn't in the T20s," he signed off.
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