Former New Zealand opener Mark Richardson correlated playing Team India in cricket to 'playing golf against your boss'.
Team India over the last few months has been ruthless in all three formats both at home as well as in away conditions. The Virat Kohli-led side is one of the fittest in the world and the fearless attitude of the players has helped the team reach new heights in world cricket.
The side defeated Australia in their backyard, twice on the trot, and recently crushed England in all three formats in the home series and for the fifth straight year, they have ended the year at the top of the ICC Test rankings.
However, the bigger challenge awaits Virat Kohli & CO when they will take New Zealand in the final of the ICC World Test Championship at Rose Bowl in Southampton.
With less than one month remaining for the WTC final, former New Zealand opener Mark Richardson said that termed playing against as ‘playing golf against your boss'. He added that even though Kiwis defeated them in there at home but it didn’t felt like they beat them
"I'd look at it from who you want to perform individually against. I look at India at the moment… and it's like playing golf against your boss. You're allowed to win but just in the right way.
“You know, we stitched them up in New Zealand a couple of times and it always felt a little bit dirty afterward. It didn't feel like we'd beaten them," Mark Richardson told Spark Sport.
Talking about other teams, Mark Richardson said the English, being the harbingers of the sport, ought to be competitive. He called Australia a 'proving ground' for Kiwis and expressed his pride in performing Down Under.
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"England, yes… they invented the game and you're always playing for your place as a cricket team, I guess. But Australia to me was like the proving ground for a New Zealand cricketer. You went there to prove your mettle and I did it and I'll take that to the grave actually.
“I'd probably still need help over what happened in Australia. I think they still hold it over us. Even the very best have underperformed against Australia," he said.
Team India will also lock horns against England in the five-Test after the WTC final. The Test series will begin on 4th August.
(Spark Sport inputs)
