Pakistan defeated New Zealand by 5 wickets.
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, despite their 5 wicket loss to Pakistan, lauded the Men in Green as a strong side fin the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2021 clash.
Pakistan Team displayed a sensational all-round performance in their second match of the T20 World Cup 2021 to hand New Zealand a 5-wicket loss and go at the top of Group 2 of Super 12s stage.
This time Haris Rauf stole the limelight for Pakistan with the ball this time as he ran through New Zealand’s batting line-up, taking four wickets. The trio of Mohammad Hafeez, Shaheen Afridi, and Imad Wasim also chipped in and helped their team in restricting New Zealand for a total of just 134 runs.
Read Also: WATCH – Devon Conway grabs a stunner out of thin air to dismiss Mohammad Hafeez
Chasing the target, Pakistan started well but the wicket of Babar Azam in the fifth over gave momentum to the Kiwis and they created pressure to reduce them to 87/5.
At that moment it almost seemed that New Zealand would clinch their first win of the tournament but the duo of Shoaib Malik and Asif Ali took the matter into their own hands and smashed a flurry of boundaries at the back end to take their team home with eight balls to spare.
Talking about the loss, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson said that it is a very disappointing defeat for them as despite being very optimistic in the middle stage, but they failed to clinch the match at the death.
"It is very disappointing. We were optimistic at the halfway stage. It was going to be really tough, we were a boundary or two at being above par. There were small margins, but we couldn't nail it at the back end,” Kane Williamson said at the post-match presentation.
Williamson praised Pakistan for being smart on the field. He said that his bowlers were on the top of their game for 80% of the game and that’s why it’s a tough defeat to swallow and called the Babar Azam-led side a team to watch.
Read Also: Quinton de Kock's refusal to take knee came as news to us, says Kieron Pollard
"Credit to Pakistan, they are a strong side and were very smart. I thought our bowlers were outstanding for 80% of the game. Quite tough to swallow. We were going into the second half, but this is a very good Pakistani side and are certainly one to watch,” he said.
Kane Williamson said that though they took some good decisions the margin of error is very small in low-scoring games.
"It is a game of small margins, we go to a different venue against India. We will have conversations and play accordingly. There were a few good decisions, but there are very small margins in these low-scoring games," he said.
New Zealand will next take on Team India on 31st October.
(ANI inputs)