World Cup 2015: Brendan Taylor feels proud to find his efforts being appreciated by all

AUCKLAND: Brendan Taylor had just completed his post-match press-conference and was leaving the room when MS Dhoni walked in. The India captain stood and congratulated his Zimbabwean counterpart: "Great show, hope to meet you again in England."Full coverage: ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Taylor acknowledged, nodded and smiled back, which showed he was truly touched. Just as he was when Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan ran up to him as he left the field after getting dismissed following a superb 138 on Saturday. "I truly felt touched. They are big players, thoroughly established. They didn't need to do that, but it feels really good when you're appreciated for your efforts," Taylor said.The predominantly Indian crowd at the Eden Park too stood up and cheered Taylor all along as he batted with a lot of gusto in his final ODI innings for Zimbabawe, following up on his century in the earlier game as well. "It's just a testament to their cricket knowledge. Obviously, we knew who they were supporting, but they clapped when we put on a decent show. That was always nice to see - I was overwhelmed by the way they responded and I'm very appreciative of that," Taylor said.He was happy that he could hit centuries in his last two innings for his country, but there was a tinge of sadness that both his efforts couldn't win the games for Zimbabwe. He knows that Zimbabwean cricket would benefit from his presence in the team, but there's not much he can do about it. If any of the IPL franchises had picked him, Taylor's international career might have been saved because his financial needs would have been taken care of.Would he rethink his Kolpak agreement if an IPL offer comes his way?"Well, my contract is already in the process of being signed, so I don't think I can move backwards on that. But in terms of IPL, I haven't thought that far ahead. That's totally out of my control. If they pick me up, it's great. But now it's one day at a time for me," Taylor said, adding that his priority now is to plan a visa for England. "But anything else that comes my way, I'd be grateful enough to consider that," Taylor said, a touch sad.Talking about his Saturday's innings, he said: "It was pretty tricky. They bowled really well and then it just sort of fell into place a little bit. I said to myself as I went out today to just enjoy the moment and not put myself under too much pressure. That helped a little bit."He said Saturday's century had probably been his best ODI innings. "But if you are not going to win then it doesn't feel so sweet," he said. "It was definitely up there but unfortunately it was in another losing cause. There's definitely a sense of sadness, a sense of disappointment. Sad in a way that I'm leaving my mates, leaving my home country for a number of years. I guess life goes on and you are posed with different challenges and choices. But it's a positive one I've taken and I'm looking forward to it," he stated.BRENDAN'S HIGHS* Seventh batsman to hit a century in his last ODI match and the first since New Zealand's James Marshall hit 161 against Ireland in 2008* Seventh Zimbabwean to score a century against India in an ODI. The last Zimbabwe centurion was Stuart Carlisle with 109 at Adelaide in 2004.* Ninth batsman to hit successive hundreds in World Cup. In the 2015 edition, Mahmudullah from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara have achieved the same landmark.* Only Zimbabwean batsman to have scored two hundreds in the World Cup.* 433 runs by Taylor in this tournament, the highest for a Zimbabwe batsman in any World Cup. The previous best was 367 by Neil Johnson in 1999.(With inputs from agencies) Follow TOI Sports on Twitter >>> @TOISportsNews