T20 World Cup 2024: Kane Williamson was critical of New Zealand's performance with the bat as well as their fielding, because they lost by 84 runs against Afghanistan. However, he was graceful in defeat and went onto laud Afghanistan for their performance.
Afghanistan win by 84 runs against New Zealand. (Courtesy: AP)
New Delhi,UPDATED: Jun 8, 2024 09:11 IST
New Zealand team's captain Kane Williamson was graceful in accepting defeat against Afghanistan as he congratulated the team for their emphatic win. Afghanistan demolished New Zealand as they registered a thumping win by 84 runs against the Kiwis at the Providence Stadium, Guyana in West Indies on June 8, Saturday. This was Afghanistan's first-ever win over New Zealand in the T20Is, and they achieved it in a dominating style. The Rashid Khan-led side have turned up a true force in the T20 World Cup 2024 as they have 2 wins in a row and that too with a brilliant net-run-rate.
Williamson, while speaking at the post-match presentation, admitted that the Kiwis were outplayed by resurgent Afghanistan in all the departments.
"Congratulations to Afghanistan, they simply outplayed us in all facets. To get a total like that on a fiddly surface, they kept wickets in hand and played it beautifully. Not good enough from us. Quick turnaround, we have to regroup quickly and onto the next challenge. The boys were focused and were working hard in preparation for this game, but it was not our best performance. We will chat about it, review and move on quickly. It (the games) comes thick and fast, and we need to be better," Williamson said.
New Zealand bagged their biggest defeat in terms of runs for New Zealand in T20 World Cups. Fazalhaq Farooqi started in a similar fashion like he did against Uganda as the Black Caps found themselves reeling at 28 for 3. Soon Rashid came into the fray and bamboozled the New Zealand batters to pick a four-wicket haul alongside Farooqi.
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NZ's sloppy fielding
Williamson was critical of the team's performance with the bat as well as their sloppy fielding.
"With the bat in hand, you want to get a partnership together. They were excellent. The skill they have was certainly on show. The fielding in the first ten overs, it is difficult on a wicket like that when you are not putting things together in the field," Williamson said. NZ vs AFG, T20 World Cup: Highlights | Scorecard
Nothing went New Zealand's way as they looked a bit rusty on the field, which led to a 103-run stand between Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who scored a match-winning 80.
Williamson was looking to take one game at a time as their next challenge would be against host West Indies.
"(On the match against West Indies) I think it is about taking a step in the right direction first. Our performance was not good enough. We have another big challenge coming for us and it is about putting together a performance we can be proud of. The opportunities we had and didn't take - on a surface like that, it goes a long way in changing the outcome. Not over-analysing but there are some things we need to address," Williamson added.
The clash against the West Indies would be a must-win for New Zealand as Afghanistan have already put on foot into the Super 8 stages.
Published By:
Diya Kakkar
Published On:
Jun 8, 2024
English (US) ·