After losing the first semifinal of the T20 World Cup against Pakistan, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson on Wednesday said that the result was a 'tough pill to swallow' and admitted that they were outplayed by their opponents.
Rising to the occasion, Mohammad Rizwan and skipper Babar Azam smashed fantastic fifties and led Pakistan to the final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 with a convincing seven-wicket win over last year's finalists New Zealand in the first semifinal at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
"Very disappointing to not make Pakistan work a lot harder. They were outstanding. We were outplayed. It's a tough pill for us to swallow. Williamson said during the post-match presentation ceremony.
Chasing an under-par target, openers Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam put their hand up when it mattered the most and gave Pakistan a blistering start, scoring 55/0 in the first six overs -- their best powerplay of the tournament with the bat.
Babar and Rizwan put us under pressure. If we're honest, we wanted to be more disciplined in our areas. At the end of the day, Pakistan certainly deserves to be winners. There's been a lot of good cricket. Throughout the round-robin, we've played nicely. Today we weren't at our best. Having said that, we know the fickle nature of T20 cricket.
The Kiwi skipper felt their bowlers lacked some discipline, adding that Pakistan deserved to be winners.
"Babar and Rizwan put us under pressure. If we're honest, we wanted to be more disciplined in our areas. At the end of the day, Pakistan certainly deserves to be winners. There's been a lot of good cricket," he said.
Williamson also spoke about his team's batting and the total they put on the board.
"We were put under pressure early. Pakistan bowled very nicely. We managed to wrestle back some momentum with an unbelievable knock from Mitchell. At the halfway stage we were feeling it was a competitive total. Wicket was a bit tough - used surface," he said.
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Talking about their overall campaign, the stylish batter said," Throughout the round-robin, we've played nicely. Today we weren't at our best. Having said that, we know the fickle nature of T20 cricket."