'Playing against India is like playing golf against your boss' - Mark Richardson ahead of WTC final

Team India has grown leaps and bounds in the purest format of the game and has successfully established itself as the best Test team of the modern era. In 2021, the Indian cricket team ended the year at the top of the ICC Test team rankings for the fifth year on the trot. 

Last year, India succumbed to an embarrassing defeat against New Zealand in the two-match Test series by 0-2. However, Virat Kohli and his men. soon buried the demons of the past and scripted a memorable comeback. In the recent past, they defeated Australia in the four-match Test series by 2-1 in their home conditions to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.  

India continued their dominance in the longest format as after Australia, they thrashed England by a 3-1 in a home Test series. The next Test assignment for Virat Kohli and Co. is to face New Zealand in the final of the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship, followed by a five-match away Test series against England. 

Ahead of the WTC final, former New Zealand batsman Mark Richardson came up with a unique example to describe the feeling of playing a Test match against India. Mark believes that playing against India is equivalent to playing golf against your boss. Explaining his point of view, the veteran said that against India, you are allowed to win only by playing in the right way. 

Australia to me was like the proving ground for a New Zealand cricketer: Mark Richardson

“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 really beaten them,” Richardson said on Spark Sport.

Further, Richardson detailed his opinion on the other two superpowers of cricket, England and Australia. Though the 49-year-old labeled England as a tough side, he believes that for any New Zealand player, Australia remains the benchmark. Mark reckoned that Kiwi cricketers take pride in performing against Australia and always want to prove their mettle against them.

“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,” Richardson pointed out.

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