T20 World Cup 2022: Top 10 funny New Zealand memes after they continue to choke in World Cup knock-out games
New Zealand suffered a thumping loss against Pakistan in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Sydney on Wednesday, November 9.
Batting first after winning the toss, the Kiwis set a decent total of 152/4 against Pakistan on a dry pitch. Daryl Mitchell (53* off 35 balls) starred with the bat by hitting a fluent half-century while Kane Williamson chipped in with a 46-run knock.
Pakistan openers Mohammad Rizwan (57) and Babar Azam (53) hammered the Kiwi bowlers all around the park in the first powerplay to get off to a brisk start in the chase. The duo continued in the same vein even after the powerplay and laid the foundation for a comfortable victory with their 105-run opening partnership.
Trent Boult scalped Babar and Rizwan after they reached the half-centuries but Pakistan were already on the brink of a famous victory. Mohammad Haris (30) powered his side to a win with a cameo in the end.
Fans were disappointed to witness another loss for New Zealand in the knock-out game of a World Cup. Since 2015, the Kiwis have reached the knock-out stages in almost all ICC white-ball cricket tournaments but have failed to lift the trophy even once.
Fans highlighted this and expressed their views on the matter by sharing hilarious memes on social media. Here is a collection of the best memes:
Yet again #NewZealand lost in knockout stage of WC. Chokers! #T20WorldCup https://t.co/iJU3XAZoB4
South Africa: We are biggest chokers in the knockout games
New Zealand:
#T20Iworldcup2022 #PakvsNz https://t.co/cePLM2Dduw
@memesmaadonu Entire world : South Africa is the BIGGEST CHOKER TEAM
New Zealand : https://t.co/r4qHpBUBHx
#PakvsNz even #sauthaafrica could call #Newzealand a #chokers now 😂😂😂
The bigger Chokers than @ProteasMenCSA
#KaneWilliamson #NZvPAK #T20Iworldcup2022 #T20WorldCup https://t.co/y7WpgioMoK
"Today was a little bit disappointing" - New Zealand captain Kane Williamson after the loss against Pakistan
Speaking after the semi-final match against Pakistan, Kane Williamson confessed that he was disappointed with his side's performance in the contest. He stated that a target of 153 looked defendable after the first innings and gave credit to Pakistan batters for putting on a clinical show.
Williamson said:
"Today was a little bit disappointing. There were some good bits but we thought we had a defendable total if we were to be on our game and the margins are small in this format. Pakistan were outstanding with the bat and certainly chased that down."
Reflecting on New Zealand's poor record in knock-out games, he added:
"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.
"You accept some of those things, and so the frustrating part of this today is that we weren't quite on top of our game. 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."
What do you think is the reason for New Zealand's repeated failures in crunch knock-out games? Sound off in the comments section