The moment former New Zealand captain Ross Taylor scored the 17th century of his Test career, he marked his presence in the Black Caps records books. In the second Test match against West Indies in Hamilton, Taylor became the second Kiwi batsman to equal the late Martin Crowe’s 23-year-old record of the highest number of Test hundreds. Taylor did give chances in near majestic innings, with a top edge from Miguel Cummins flying just out of reach of wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich and on 35 he was dropped in the gully by Shai Hope off Shannon Gabriel.
After the play ended for the day, Taylor turned emotional during an interview while remembering the departed New Zealand batting legend and his mentor Martin Crowe. He said,
He always said when there is a butterfly that’s (me) and there was a butterfly out there when I was on about 70 so that was pretty good.
Here’s the video:
Touching interview with one of cricket’s good guys, Ross Taylor, after he reached 17 Test centuries today, the same mark set by his mentor, the late great Martin Crowe. Courtesy of @skysportnz pic.twitter.com/hP98xiG2yI
— Derek Alberts (@derekalberts1) December 11, 2017
Taylor joined the club along with Crowe and skipper Kane Williamson on 17 Test centuries. The 33-year-old veteran Kiwi batsman reached the milestone, driving Raymon Reifer to the boundary for only the 11th four in his 198-ball innings. Earlier this year, Williamson became the second Kiwi batsman to get 17 Test hundreds in the month of March at this venue against South Africa.
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| Sl. No. | Player Name | Year of Getting 17th Ton | Opposition |
| 1 | Martin Crowe | 1994 | England |
| 2 | Kane Williamson | 2017 | South Africa |
| 3 | Ross Taylor | 2017 | West Indies |
With the help of Taylor’s hundred, the Kiwis perfectly put the Caribbean players under pressure. They set a world-record target of 444 to win for the Windies. While chasing this mammoth target, they trembled right in the beginning and lost 2 wickets in 8 overs. Day 3’s play concluded at 30/2 and Windies need 414 runs more to win with two days more to play.
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Currently, West Indies hold the record of a victorious fourth innings chase. They chased down a target of 418 runs against Australia for the loss of seven wickets. This feat was achieved 14 years ago.
