New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said that their defeat to Pakistan was a “tough pill to swallow” but admitted their opponents on the day are the team to watch out for in the tournament. While Pakistan had a wobble in the middle overs during their chase, they managed to beat New Zealand by five wickets with more than an over to follow-up on their resounding 10-wicket win over arch-rivals India.
“It was very disappointing at the end,” said Williamson in the post-match presentation ceremony. “Unfortunately we couldn’t nail things towards the back end but we were up against a very good side in Pakistan and congratulations to them.
“We wanted to bowl as straight as possible. It’s quite clear as soon as we missed our lengths that there was some value for our shots. Quite tough to swallow, we were looking forward to giving a good fight in that second half. It’s a very strong Pakistan side and certainly the ones to watch,” he said.
New Zealand next face India, who themselves are looking to bounce back from a heavy defeat against Pakistan. While the game on Tuesday was held in Sharjah, New Zealand travel to Dubai to play India. “It’s the way it goes, the margins are small. We go to a different venue and will be against a different, and very strong side in India. We will have some conversations, plan accordingly, but there is some good to take from this,” he said.
