Williamson hails 'selfless' Taylor post series win over Zimbabwe

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has heaped praise on star batsman Ross Taylor by describing him as selfless after the latter guided the side to an emphatic 254-run win in the second Test and eventually to a two-match series win against Zimbabwe here at Queens Sports Club on Wednesday.

Taylor carried his county form onto the international stage as he notched up a total of 364 runs in the series, including his unbeaten 124-run knock in the second match. The highlight of his performance was that he was not dismissed by the home side even once in the series.

Admitting that Ross has had an 'unbelievable' series, the skipper also thanked the 32-year-old for his unbeaten 67 runs in the second innings of the second Test.

"Ross had an unbelievable series. We knew when it was our opportunity to bat, big runs had to be scored to give our spinners and bowlers a lot of overs to try and let the wicket deteriorate and he was a huge part of that. To not to be dismissed, maybe he is in that space where he is playing within himself. He got a couple of fantastic hundred but also that knock that he played in the second innings where we needed to score at a quicker rate to give ourselves enough time to bowl Zimbabwe out. He showed his class as a player to go through the gears and give us an opportunity. It was such a selfless innings," Williamson was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

Williamson, however, said that he hopes his side would take the confidence from the series win to the two-match Test series against South Africa, beginning at Kingsmead on August 19.

"We're always looking to improve, with each game. You still have bad days but hopefully there are a few less of them. Hopefully with our drive to improve, we like to think we have become a better side than before,"he said.

Chasing a huge target of 386, Zimbabwe were bundled out for mere 132 in their second innings, thanks to spinners Ish Sodhi and Martin Guptill for their three wickets apiece.

Meanwhile, Mitchell Santner, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner and Tim Southee also claimed a wicket each.

Williamson, who was adjudged 'Man of the Match' for his brilliant 113 and 68 runs across two innings, said that he was pleased with the way spinners came through after the seamers and the batsmen set the match up for the country.

"It was nice to see our seamers out in the yards on a surface that did not offer a huge amount lot but also the spinners to take control in that last innings. That's always what you want to see in a Test match, the spinners taking control at the end," he said.