Legendary New Zealand all-rounder Sir Richard Hadlee has backed his former side as 'slight favourites' for the two-Test series against India beginning on Thursday at Auckland, despite the vast gap in the two teams' world rankings.
New Zealand has already defied the rankings with their one-day series win, in the process sending India from first to second in the ODI standings and lifting their own ranking from eighth to seventh.
According to Sydney Morning Herald, Hadlee, who has a record 431 Test wickets and 3124 runs, said that the eight-ranked home side would take huge confidence from their shock 4-0 one-day series win over India and thus has all the momentum heading into the Test series despite India being second on the Test rankings.
Stating that New Zealand might go into the series as 'slight favourites' as they are 'on a roll' at the moment, Hadlee however, said that replicating their ODI success in the Test arena would be a difficult feat for the home team as Test cricket is going up another level, although he was confidant that the hosts can take any team on the limited-overs formats.