Sydney: New Zealand lost the most crucial game of semi-final against Pakistan after a poor show with bat as well as ball. Known for their accurate fielding, Kiwis were seen missing lose in those areas as well in the clash against Pakistan on Wednesday. Consequently, they have lost their chances of reaching the finale of the tournament.
After choosing to bat first, New Zealand could only make 152 runs and Pakistan chased it effortlessly, Powerful performance of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan helped Pakistan reach the finale of the tournament.
Afridi cleans up!
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Kane Williamson explains why they lost against Pakistan
After facing the defeat against Pakistan, New Zealand skipper accepted their shortcomings and said that they weren’t at their best.
In the post-match press-conference, Williamson said, “We were put under pressure early. Pakistan bowled very nicely. We managed to wrestle back some momentum with an unbelievable knock from Mitchell. At the halfway stage we were feeling it was a competitive total. Wicket was a bit tough – used surface. Very disappointing to not make Pakistan work a lot harder. They were outstanding. We were outplayed.”
Pakistan deserved to win – Williamson
Adding to his comment, Williamson said that Pakistan deserved to win after such a brilliant performance.
“It’s a tough pill for us to swallow. Babar and Rizwan put us under pressure. If we’re honest, we wanted to be more disciplined in our areas. At the end of the day, Pakistan certainly deserve to be winners. There’s been a lot of good cricket. Throughout the round-robin, we’ve played nicely. Today we weren’t at our best. Having said that, we know the fickle nature of T20 cricket,” he admitted.
Pakistan has stormed into the final of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022 and it hasn’t been an easy journey there. In the semi-final, Babar Azam-led Pakistan defeated New Zealand with dominance and class cricket to reach the final of the tournament.
