ICC World Cup 2019 | Very fortunate to be on the right side of the result, states Kane Williamson

New Zealand pulled off an impressive victory against a heart-broken West Indies side who gave their all on the pitch. However, it was a nightmare of a start for the Black Caps after its two openers got out for ducks off their first balls. It took a brilliant 148 off 154 balls by the skipper to stabilize the innings and help them put up 291 on the board. In doing so, he set a record of most runs scored by a batsman in a World Cup without getting out after he had scored an unbeaten century in the previous match too. 

“Not the best of starts, they got the ball to swing which made life incredibly difficult. They bowled in the right areas for a lengthy amount of time, the ball did a bit, we did well to put on partnerships which helped us post a decent total on the board. I wanted to be clear in my mind, wanted to play according to the merits of the ball, make the best possible decisions and play according to the situation of the game,” Williamson was quoted saying by Cricbuzz.

However, New Zealand had an excellent start with the ball themselves. After two early wickets, West Indies rallied back with a 122-run partnership but then saw five wickets fall for 22 runs. It took a gigantic effort from the explosive Carlos Braithwaite to take the game down to the wire but unfortunately for him, it wasn’t enough to take them across the line as the Caribbean nation fell five runs short.

“Those sort of games are good for the crowd. Very fortunate to be on the right side of the result. The game ebbed and flowed. Some of their guys were able to hit the ball out of the park and we were able to pick up the wickets and stem the flow. The run rate came in to the equation and then again they hit a few more out of the park. Was a brilliant game and a lot of learning for us before we move into the next match,” Williamson stated.

Regardless of the result, Braithwaite’s 101 off 82 balls will be remembered for years and years to come and will go down in World Cup folklore as one of the finest batting displays. It was heart-wrenching to see him get out in the end after his nine fours and five sixes had given the island nation so much hope only for all of it to come crashing down.

“Obviously, West Indies are incredibly dangerous, the power they generate throughout the order, we saw it even today.  I mean of the striking the Windies team are able to achieve is unrivalled. I think any sort of experience you have, you can learn from it,” said Williamson acknowledging the opposition’s performance. 

After an equally close game against South Africa which had gone down to the final over, the Kiwis have shown they are in it to win it and are currently on top of the table, having not lost even a single game so far. Their berth in the semi-finals is practically assured now.

“There have been a couple of tight ones against good sides. It's nice you end up on the right side of the result and still reflect and make some improvements moving forward. I guess the players are still pretty fresh. We have a few days to think about changes before the next game. Every game is a tough one here. You want to play good cricket and move forward. We have taken small steps but still a long way to go,” the skipper signed off.