New Zealand sustained their first defeat of the ongoing ICC World Cup 2019 as they went down against Pakistan by six wickets at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Skipper Kane Williamson admitted that a great Pakistan side completely outplayed them on a tough wicket to register their third victory.
Pakistan outplayed us on a tough wicket: Williamson
Meanwhile, James Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme guided New Zealand to a good total after Mohammad Amir and Shaheen Afridi run havoc with the new ball. Afridi bagged three while Amir scalped one to have the Kiwis at 46 for four. Since then, Neesham took the onus on himself and remained unbeaten on 97 runs to steer his side to a challenging total. De Grandhomme also chipped in with crucial 64 runs to help them post 237 runs at the end of 50 overs.
Also read: ICC World Cup 2019: Youngsters Need To Learn From Kane Williamson – Jason Holder
Pakistan chased down the target convincingly banking on a century from Babar Azam and useful contributions from Haris Sohail. New Zealand started well, but Babar took the attack to the opposition partnering Mohammad Hafeez and then with Sohail to keep their chances of making it to the semifinal. Speaking at the end of the game, Kane Williamson hailed Pakistan for coming out as a better team at the end of the match.
“We were outplayed on a tough surface by a great Pakistan side today. I think there was a little more bounce than we experienced on the same surface the other day. Pakistan put the ball in the right areas, and made life difficult for us,” Williamson said.
Also read: ICC World Cup 2019: We Were A Good Fielding Side Against New Zealand – Sarfaraz Ahmed
Furthermore, Kane Williamson admitted that it is not possible to win all the games in a round-robin league format. However, Williamson is upbeat to adjust to conditions better in the next matches at a different venue.
“We aren’t expecting to win them all in a format like round-robin because there are simply too many games, but there were glimpses of some great cricket today. We have to adapt a little better than we did today at a different venue against a different opposition up next,” he concluded.