NZ v IND | Have to finish games before Super Over now, admits Kane Williamson

It is true that the Kiwis have, time and again, captured the hearts of the cricketing fraternity after being unlucky on many close encounters. But yesterday the hosts needed two runs off four balls with six wickets in hand in the last over with their most experienced batsman in Ross Taylor at the crease. Yet, in the end, it was their opponents — India, this time — who came out on top in a tense Super Over that where the pendulum swung one way, then the other.

"Super Overs certainly haven't been our friend, but I think if we're being brutally honest we would've liked to have perhaps got across the line before requiring a win in the Super Over. But I guess if we reflect on the match altogether, it was a brilliant game. My opinion we shouldn't have them...No! It is what it is. It's good fun, isn’t it? It's a full house at midnight or whatever time it is. That's pretty cool. It's good entertainment,” Williamson said at the post-match press conference, reported ESPNCricinfo.

The Kiwis can, however, be proud of a vastly improved performance as compared to the first two encounters. Williamson was particularly proud of his bowlers who restricted India to just 90 off the final 11 overs, after conceding 89 in the first nine. The skipper, whose valiant 95 off 48 balls eventually went in vain, also noted that his side had successfully managed to build partnerships throughout the chase of 180.

"I think India had a very good first-innings total on that surface and we knew they'd bowl well on it as well because it was taking a bit of turn as well. The guys fought back nicely after the start India got with the bat and then we were able to build partnerships and take the game deep. Yeah, pretty disappointing to be on the wrong side of the result after doing a lot of hard work to get so close but certainly a much-improved effort from the first two games,” he said.

With the series lost, the Kiwis head to Wellington for the fourth T20I, but Williamson was confident that the team was largely non-fussed about the results and happy with the improvement.

"It's always very tough to get to sleep after such late games, adrenaline's sort of going regardless of the result. But you move on to another game. Yes it was close, and an emotional roller coaster perhaps, certainly as we got so close to the end, but we have to keep moving our focus forward and that's to Wellington. We know the quality of the Indian side but for us it's just to keep improving as a group and we did that today and we need to keep demanding that of ourselves moving forward as well," Williamson added.