New Zealand's leading test cricket wicket taker Sir Richard Hadlee has declared the Black Caps slight favourites for the two-Test series against India beginning this week, despite the gulf in the teams' world rankings.
Hadlee, who took 431 Test wickets and scored 3124 runs, says the home side will take enormous confidence from their shock 4-0 one-day series win over India.
He said while India, who're second in the Test rankings, couldn't be underestimated, the eighth-ranked New Zealanders have all the momentum heading into the series.
New Zealand have 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.
Hadlee said replicating that success in the Test arena would be a difficult feat for the Black Caps.
The first Test starts in Auckland on Thursday.
