Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India] : New Zealand captain Kane Williamson praised Team Pakistan for their “exceptional” performance and said the Babar Azam-led side deserved to get the win against Kiwis in Bengaluru on Saturday.
Fakhar Zaman’s mind-boggling knock helped Pakistan defeat New Zealand by 21 runs on DLS in a high-scoring rain-effected match in Bengaluru.
While the weather played a role, Williamson stated that nothing could be taken away from Pakistan. The New Zealand captain stated that the ground was insufficient for Fakhar on the day and that Pakistan deserved full credit for the victory.
“Quite hard to get our heads around after getting that total, for us we will take the positives before the next game. I mean they played exceptionally well, gave themselves every chance and got over the line, they were certainly on target with their chase. Zaman played beautifully, they deserved that result today and for us it’s about moving on to our next challenge,” Williamson said in a post-match presentation.
Williamson praised the team’s contributions and singled out Ravindra for special commendation. The New Zealand captain believed that the outcome may have been different if they had taken some quick wickets and eliminated the short side of the ground from the battle.
“Sort of, maybe we wanted 450, I don’t know. (on positives) A lot of really good partnerships, and clearly a very good surface and that can be tough on the bowlers. So yeah a fantastic first half and obviously Rachin was batting absolutely beautifully and having a fantastic time, hope that continues, some really good signs from the unit. If you get a wicket or two and you’re able to take the short side out of it in terms of the left and right combination things can change quickly, but we weren’t able to do that today and Pakistan exploited that to the max,” he added.
Babar Azam and Zaman’s phenomenal fireworks at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium helped Pakistan beat New Zealand on DLS in a high-scoring rain-effected match and keep their chances of qualification alive in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023.
Pakistan were 21 runs up on DLS when the rain returned and got too heavy to continue, and the victory brought Babar Azam’s team up to eight points, level with New Zealand, and back into the qualification race.