ICC World Cup 2019 | We were outplayed by a strong Pakistan side, admits Kane Williamson
Kane Williamson reckons his team was outplayed on all fronts by a simply stronger Pakistan side as New Zealand succumbed to their first defeat in the 2019 World Cup. The in-form Kiwis could only post 237 runs on the board, which Pakistan chased down calmly to register a comprehensive six-wicket win.
When the high-flying Kiwis side ran into a resurgent Pakistan side, it was the Asians who took home the spoils. Winning the toss and electing to bat first, New Zealand were in trouble at 83/5 before some strong resistance by Williamson and late flourish by all-rounders Jimmy Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme saw the Blackcaps finishing with 237/6 in 50 overs.Â
De Grandhomme scored 64 off 71 balls, while Neesham remained unbeaten on 97 although it wasn't enough in the end. And at the post-match presentation, skipper Williamson admitted that his team were thoroughly outplayed.Â
“We were outplayed by a strong Pakistan side. The fight that was shown in the middle and back end was good, to get us in a position where we were competitive. But that partnership with Babar and Haris, they took it from us,” said Williamson, reported ESPNCricinfo.Â
Williamson, who made a patient 41 trying to rebuild the innings, got out to a peach of a delivery by leg-spinner Shadab Khan. From 46/4, he felt that the key was to soak up as much pressure and post a total around the 250 mark, but he didn’t fail to credit the way Babar Azam and Haris Sohail handling the pressure during the run chase.
“We tried to soak it up. Thought if we get 230-250, there was a chance. And there was, but they soaked up the pressure and played really nicely,” Williamson said.Â
Coming into the game and being one of the two sides to remain unbeaten at the tournament, the Kiwi captain said he didn’t expect to win all the games. However, going further he was confident his team would be able to capitalize on the experience of playing in several different conditions.
“There's so many games in the round robin that you're not expecting to win them all. There's things we need to iron out. We've seen it in our last three games, where the surfaces have offered to the bowlers and made life difficult. We'll have to adapt a little better than we did today,” Williamson added.
