New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham was distraught after being run out at a crucial juncture against Australia in their narrow 5-run loss to Australia on Saturday, October 28 in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023.

In a high-scoring encounter, Australia posted a massive 388 runs with Travis Head hitting 109, David Warner making 81, and then Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, and Pat Cummins adding on runs in death overs. Trent Boult and Glenn Phillips took three wickets each for New Zealand.

In response, Rachin Ravindra showed his class with his second century of the tournament, while Daryl Mitchell and Jimmy Neesham made half-centuries. Neesham was taking Kiwis close to an amazing win but was run out when his team needed seven runs to win off two balls while chasing 389.

He dived to make it into the crease to retain strike but fell way short and was run out. And with his dismissal, New Zealand’s hopes also ended, as they finished on 383/9 and lost by 5 runs.

"Actually, that (2019 final) was the first thing I thought of when I was coming off, that it's going to look very, very similar. I mean that's the nature, isn't it? You want to be desperate, I suppose, in those situations, and you'd much rather get run out on your stomach than on your feet,” Neesham was quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

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In 2019, Martin Guptill was run out at the striker’s end in the Super Over against England at the Lord’s Cricket Ground. The Black Caps lost the final after England were declared winners based on the now-scrapped boundary count rule. Neesham was at the non-striker’s end back then.

"You worked for six and a half hours during the day, and it comes down to potentially two deliveries. And four years ago, we worked for two months, and it came down to one delivery.

It's just the nature of the game. Obviously, I'm probably closer towards the back end of my career than I am to the front. So yeah, it doesn't pay to stress too much on the results. I think everyone wants to win and everyone's desperate to win, especially in world tournaments, but that can't dictate how you want to play the game," Neesham added.

New Zealand is still at the 3^rd spot on the CWC 2023 points table. They will next face South Africa on Wednesday, November 1 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune.