- SportsTak

Ross Taylor playing in his 112th and final Test match was given a guard of honour by Bangladesh cricketers as he came on to bat on Day 2 of the second Test match in Christchurch. The 37-year-old had earlier announced that he will be retiring from the red-ball format with the conclusion of the ongoing Test series. The right-handed batter is considered as one of the best players of his generation and will go down as a legend of the game in New Zealand cricket.

Taylor came into bat in the 96th over of the first innings when Davon Conway (109) was dismissed courtesy of a run-out. The emotional moment was full of praise as fans in the stadium also greeted the occasion with applause. The Bangladesh players stood in two rows as Taylor walked across the greeting players from the opposition.

Umpires take off their caps

On-field umpires Chris Gaffaney and Wayne Knights also joined the Bangladesh players by applauding New Zealand's most capped Test batter. Both umpires were seen taking their caps off in a gesture of respect.

The 28-runs inning may not have been his best, but it may turn out to be his last in the format as Bangladesh were bowled out for 126 and still trail by 395 runs. If follow-in is imposed by skipper Tom Latham, it will be Taylor's last Test innings. On the other hand, Taylor has already stated that he will hang his boots from the limited-overs format in February after the Australia and Netherlands tour for ODI and T20Is.

In a glittering career, Taylor has smashed 7682 runs in 195 innings from 112 Test matches. This tally includes 19 hundreds and 35 fifties with a best of 290 against Australia in Perth in November 2015. Taylor made his Test debut in November 2007 against South Africa and has since gone on to be one of the best players for his country. The current Test match also saw him surpass Stephen Fleming’s tally of 111 Test matches.