T20 World Cup | We really needed Martin Guptill's innings, says Kane Williamson as New Zealand beat Scotland

After Scotland won the toss and opted to field first,  New Zealand lost the wickets of Daryl Mitchell (13), captain Kane Willaimson (0) and Devon Conway (1) before the end of 7th over, but Guptill continued to score briskly from one end. He later got good support from Phillips (33) as New Zealand ended their innings at 172 for 5 in 20 overs. 

"We certainly knew coming into this tournament that there were match winners all around. It ebbed and flowed and we got a good first innings total. We were patchy with the ball but we need to move on. Credit to Scotland for the way they played and hit the ball out of the park.We were tested and we need to learn from this. Guptill is a power player. He is hitting the ball beautifully. We really needed his innings. Also Glenn Phillips, and that partnership was necessary to get us to a good total," Kane Williamson said after his side's second win at the T20 World Cup 2021. 

New Zealand next face Namibia just after a day's break on Friday and Kane Williamson already has all his focus on the fixture which will be played at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Pakistan had narrowly lost to Pakistan at the same venue by 5 wickets and 8 balls remaining. 

"A quick turnaround now, recover as quickly as possible for the next challenge. There are always things to work on, and there are definitely a few things we want to touch on. We need to adjust quickly to surfaces. It was a hard fought match. We will go to Sharjah and take it from there. Every game is valuable and we know we try and prepare as well as possible for all of them. The next game is the only game that matters. For us it is all about playing the cricket we want to play and stay committed to that," he added. 

Despite the win, New Zealand are sitting on the third spot in the Group 2 points table, Afghanisan have also won two matches but have a better Net Run Rate. 

Further, Man on the Match Martin Guptill credited his long-term association with Glenn Phillips for the 105-run crucial partnership. 

"We have a day off tomorrow, so I won't be doing much then. We didn't have a great start. It wasn't a rescue mission, but Glenn and I had to assess. I have played a lot of cricket with him, and we have put up a lot of partnerships for Auckland. A few missed balls and we were able to get them away and get some momentum. Not ideal with the running, but we got there in the end. Afghanistan are a great side and we can't take them lightly," he said.