New Zealand captain Kane Williamson says he expected Pakistan’s bowlers to be outstanding

Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain, praised Pakistan’s bowlers for their “amazing” performance against them, praising their “highest class” clinical display at the death. Pakistan held New Zealand to 134 for eight before cruising home in 18.4 overs to win the Group 2 Super 12 match by five wickets for their second consecutive victory in the ICC T20 World Cup. Haris Rauf got four for 22 in the middle overs, while spinners Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan also helped to stifle the batsmen.

“Unfortunately, it didn’t quite go our way,” Williamson said. “I suppose if we look at the opponents and how clinical they were at the death, not allowing us to time the ball, they were the highest class, and for us, it’s trying to take some of those learnings and move forward.”

“There’s a lot to learn from those experiences,” Kane continued, “but at the end of the day, Pakistan were magnificent and they finished the game off beautifully on a very difficult surface.”

“Their bowlers were just as good today as they were the night before in their first encounter (against India), as we expected. They continued to deliver, and their performance for Pakistan was exceptional “he stated.

On Sunday, Pakistan bowlers were also brilliant against India, with pacer Shaheen Afridi removing Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul at the top of the order. The Sharjah surface was challenging for batting, according to Williamson, who hit 25 runs before being run out, but Pakistan number seven batter Asif Ali timed the ball with ease.

“It was a difficult surface to time the ball on, especially for someone like Shoaib Malik, who batted through the innings and finished with a couple of smashes. And Asif Ali, who came in and smashed the ball superbly on a difficult surface, far sweeter than anyone else “He went on to explain.

Despite the fact that New Zealand lost, Williamson had no concerns about the players’ performance, which he described as “heartfelt.”

“The lads competed extremely well and made a lot of solid decisions along the road,” Kane said. “When you play those low scoring matches on challenging surfaces like we did tonight, the game has very tight margins, and unfortunately, a couple of misses means a lot when it counts.”

New Zealand’s next match is against India on October 31, and they will be without Lockie Ferguson, who was forced to withdraw due to a calf injury.