IND vs NZ | Taking pace off seemed to work but was tough to execute, admits Kane Williamson
Kane Williamson has revealed trying to take the pace off was doing its bit but his team struggled to do execute that in the middle, which cost them the game in Auckland today. Williamson also added that it was tough to defend 203 runs because of the ground dimension and India's quality.
While Mohammed Shami and Shardul Thakur were battered in the beginning, the Kiwi trio of Tim Southee, Hamish Bennett and Blair Tickner conceded as many as 118 runs in 11 overs. This was a significant number in a game where 407 runs were scored, something Kane Williamson admitted in the post-match presentation today. While conceding the fact that it was tough to execute, taking pace off seemed to have been working to an extent - which could have helped the hosts pulling the string.
"We sort of had five bowlers and Colin and I guess with the slower bowlers, in terms of the treat, it was hard being such a good pitch. Taking pace off seemed to be working okay, but it was tough to execute because India put us under pressure constantly. They kept putting us under pressure and we found ourselves defending for most of the second half. We have to recover there. It's always important at this ground that when you start you go on," Williamson said in the post-match presentation, reported Cricbuzz.
Eden Park's dimension adds a different set of challenges for any team as the concept of a safe T20 score goes out of the equation. India manifested the plan successfully, chasing down the mammoth total of 204 runs with consummate ease. Mitchell Santner, one of their better T20 bowlers in the last two years, also had to suffer the wrath of dew as India secured their second-ever T20 win in the Kiwi country.
"A lot of positives out there. We know coming to Eden Park it's hard to defend and there was a bit of dew and obviously India showed their class. We knew batting first we had to get a good total on the board. Being a second-used suface, it was a high scoring game. But with ball in hand, if we could get three or four early, we could have got ahead of the game," the Kiwi skipper added.
