Guyana [West Indies], June 8 (ANI): New Zealand captain Kane Williamson revealed that the most frustrating thing about their comprehensive defeat against Afghanistan was their fielding.
It was another upset in the ongoing tournament as New Zealand folded on 75 in 15.2 overs and succumbed to a thumping 84-run defeat.
Afghanistan got off to a flying start and the Kiwis helped their cause. They dropped a couple of catches, allowing Afghanistan to exercise control throughout the first innings.
After the game, Williamson expressed his disappointment in their performance in a game where they were completely outplayed.
“Yeah, I think for a start, Afghanistan were outstanding. To execute a performance like that on a tricky surface, I know they were sort of 55-60 at ten overs, but ten wickets in hand meant they had every opportunity to get a very good score. Our fielding didn’t help our cause without a doubt. That would be the most frustrating part for me,” Williamson said in the post-match press conference.
“It is something we pride ourselves on so that was very disappointing but, that performance from us married up to an outstanding performance from Afghanistan meant that it wasn’t good enough and they showed their skill today and we were outplayed,” he added.
After Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran put on a 103-run opening stand, the Kiwis did well to restrict Afghanistan to 159/6.
In reply, they struggled to put up an effort to chase down the target. Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan inflicted massive damage on the opposition batters.
Fazalhaq Farooqi enjoyed the early movement and made the most of it. He removed the opening duo of Finn Allen and Devon Conway.
Rashid made short work of the middle-order which helped Afghanistan clinch their maiden T20I win over the Blackcaps.
Williamson felt that Afghanistan’s prowess and New Zealand’s shortcomings both played a part in their slump in the campaign opener.
“I think a bit of both. I mean certainly, they’re not the standards that we expect of ourselves, but take nothing away from Afghanistan they were superb. And they’ve been building as a group for some time now and we’re seeing performances like that from them quite regularly, so I think a bit of both. For us, it’s about reviewing our performance and looking to find areas that we can improve on. And like I say, the fielding element for us is important to our team, and it wasn’t up to the standard,” Williamson noted.
After enduring an unprecedented defeat in the campaign opener, New Zealand will seek a win against the co-hosts West Indies at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad and Tobago. (ANI)
Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed of ANI; only the image & headline may have been reworked by News Services Division of World News Network Inc Ltd and Palghar News and Pune News and World News
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