Taylor hails teammates after historic win

Sport
NATIONAL cricket team captain Brendan Taylor was full of praise for his teammates after they pulled off a dramatic 24-run win to level the series.

NATIONAL cricket team captain Brendan Taylor was full of praise for his teammates after they pulled off a dramatic 24-run win to level the series on the fifth day of the final Test at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday.

DANIEL NHAKANISO SPORTS REPORTER

Fast bowler Tendai Chatara took five for 61 as Pakistan were bowled out for 239 soon after lunch despite an unbeaten 79 by Pakistan captain Misbah ul-Haq to level the series 1-1.

Taylor said his charges had shown tremendous character to bounce back strongly after crashing to a 221 run-defeat to the same team recently and a humiliating 5-0 loss to a second-string India side.

“It is a fantastic win.

“It takes a lot of character to come back from a big loss. Beating a world-class team like Pakistan always gives you a great high. It shows the progress we have made over the last six months.

“Credit should go to our players who put up a commendable performance against them,” Taylor said.

“Our players showed a lot of character. It is special also because we had suffered a 5-0 defeat against India. And the way we fought back in this series after being 1-0 down is special.”

The 26-year-old right-handed batsmen said the victory was as a result of a collective effort from the team adding the bowlers had performed particularly well considering the team did not have a bowling coach.

“It was the work done by both the bowlers and the batsmen.

“It is also special because we have been without a bowling coach for the past six months and this shows what kind of effort our bowlers have put in,” he added after leading the national side to the biggest win of his career.

Misbah ul Haq’s side conceded five rating points and moved down the list.

Pakistan had only moved into fourth position last month following the conclusion of the Ashes, which England retained with a 3-0 win over Australia.

Rank (+/-) Team Rating (+/-) 1 South Africa 135 2 England 116 3 India 116 4 (+1) Australia 101 5 (+1) West Indies 99 6 (-2) Pakistan 97, (-5) 7 Sri Lanka 88 8 New Zealand 79 9 Zimbabwe 34 10 Bangladesh 10