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Despite suffering a defeat against India in the semifinals, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson hailed the Men in Blue for their performance in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023 and said the hosts deserved to win as they played some outstanding cricket in the tournament.
Kohli's 'Virat' show at the Wankhede Stadium followed by Mohammed Shami's lethal 7-wicket haul powered India to the final of ICC World Cup 2023, beating New Zealand by 70 runs in a mouth-watering semifinal clash on Wednesday. Daryl Mitchell's vigilant knock of 134 runs came up short against Shami's lethal spell as the India pacer led India's effort in the field to help the hosts seal a place in Sunday's final. Williamson credited the Rohit Sharma-led India for outplaying his side. "Firstly, congrats to India. They have played great cricket throughout. They played their best game today. They are a top side and played top cricket. Credit to the guys. Proud of the guys to stay in the fight," Williamson said in a post-match presentation. New Zealand were outstanding in the first part of the competition, but then they faltered, and they were defeated by teams like India, Australia, and South Africa - all three of which are in the semifinals. Williamson stated that he was disappointed after suffering a 70-run loss to India. New Zealand captain said hosts didn't give Kiwis 'a sniff' as they fell short chasing down 398 in the WC semis. "Disappointing to go out but super proud of the effort that's gone in for the last seven weeks. The effort was there, but like I said India are top class, and have world-class batters who didn't give us a sniff really. You come in and get 400, it's a tick in the box. They deserve to be where they are, played outstandingly well. It wasn't to be today but nice to be out there to give ourselves a chance. It was a fantastic crowd, unbelievable atmosphere, slightly one-sided in the support but special to be part of the tournament, great to be hosted here by India." After losing both of their openers early on, Daryl Mitchell and skipper Kane Williamson stepped up and put up 181 runs for the third wicket. Williamson did receive one reprieve with a missed catch on 52, but he couldn't capitalise and was out for 69. "We had some incredible contributions, as a team there was a real commitment to the cricket we wanted to play, Rachin and Mitchell were special throughout the campaign, on varied surfaces. They played really, really well. Bowlers chipped in, a lot of fight, proud of that. Even if it didn't go our way, ultimately moving forward as a team, we've taken some really good steps in the right direction," the Kiwi captain added. (ANI)
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