Sydney: New Zealand lost the most crucial semi-final match against Pakistan after a poor introduction with bat and ball. Known for his accurate fielding, the Kiwi was also lacking in these areas in Wednesday’s clash against Pakistan. Consequently, they lost their chance to reach the finals of the tournament.
After electing to bat first, New Zealand could only manage 152 runs and Pakistan chased it down with ease. Powerful performances from Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan helped Pakistan enter the finals of the tournament.
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Kane Williamson explains why they lost to Pakistan
After the loss to Pakistan, the New Zealand captain accepted their shortcomings and said they were not at their best.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Williamson said: “We were under pressure early on. Pakistan bowled very nicely. We managed to get some momentum back with Mitchell’s incredible knock. Halfway through the stage we felt it was a competitive total. The gate was a bit hard – used surface. It is very disappointing that Pakistan was not made to work harder. They were outstanding. They outplayed us.”
Pakistan deserved to win – Williamson
Williamson added that Pakistan deserved to win after such a brilliant performance.
“It’s a hard pill to swallow.” Babar and Rizwan put us under pressure. If we are honest, we wanted to be more disciplined in our areas. At the end of the day, Pakistan definitely deserve to be victorious. There was a lot of good cricket. We played well during the round robin. We weren’t at our best today. That being said, we know the volatile nature of T20 cricket,” he admitted.
Pakistan have made it to the finals of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022 and it was not easy to get there. In the semi-final, Pakistan led by Babar Azam defeated New Zealand with dominance and classy cricket to reach the final of the tournament.
