T20 World Cup 2022: "That's the frustrating part to me" - Kane Williamson on New Zealand missing out on another opportunity to win ICC trophy
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson expressed his frustration after missing out on another opportunity to lift an ICC trophy after losing to Pakistan in the first semi-final of the 2022 T20 World Cup at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The elegant right-handed batter lamented his side not bringing their A-game game when it mattered.
The Kiwis succumbed to a seven-wicket loss on Wednesday (November 9) as Pakistan were clinical in all departments. The Men in Green's bowling attack set up the victory by restricting the opposition to 152-4 in 20 overs.
Later, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan laid the foundation with a 105-run opening stand as Pakistan sealed the win by seven wickets.
Congratulations @TheRealPCB. Good luck in Melbourne. Scorecard | on.nzc.nz/3DVwDI4 #T20WorldCup https://t.co/pLo8t1XSpb
Speaking after the seven-wicket loss, Williamson reflected that the Kiwi's opponents have been better than them during crunch games. He said, as quoted by the ICC:
"I think we've played in a number of different finals and put out really good performances, probably good enough to win, and either got met by a side that's played a little bit better or a side that's played about equal, you know, however it looks.
"We fought hard and we showed some good characteristics that are important for our team and the attitude you want to see, but yeah, it wasn't to be. That's the frustrating part to me."
Although the Kiwis clinched the World Test Championship last year, they have stumbled in several knockout games of the limited-overs tournaments. The Black Caps have reached the semi-finals of every ICC white-ball competition since 2016 except for the 2017 Champions Trophy, but have failed to win any of them.
"You've got to continue to as you go into the business end" - Kane Williamson
Despite building some momentum after early wickets and putting up a respectable total, Williamson conceded that it wasn't enough on the surface. He added:
"The journey was good, a lot of good cricket, but as we know, you've got to continue to as you go into the business end, and today was certainly frustrating.
"Pakistan got off to a good start and put us under pressure and then were able to sort of wrestle back a little bit of momentum and build a couple of partnerships and then sort of fight our way to a score that we thought on that surface we could make a little bit difficult."
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5️⃣7️⃣ off 4️⃣3️⃣ balls 🌟
@iMRizwanPak - player of the match in the semi-final win 🏆
#WeHaveWeWill | #T20WorldCup | #NZvPAK https://t.co/RRqZbGyEHA
Pakistan will face the winner of tomorrow's semi-final clash between India and England in the final at the MCG on November 13.