Sharjah, Nov 5 (IANS) After a thumping win over Namibia, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson on Friday said that it was a challenging pitch but batters of his team maximised the short boundary side of the venue.
New Zealand produced a clinical all-performance to thrash Namibia by 52 runs in a Super 12 match and consolidated their spot in the semi-final race of the Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 in Sharjah.
“I think we all know what we have to expect here (Sharjah), it’s a real scrap. We tried to maximise that short side, it was a challenging surface. The guys played well to get us to 160,” said Williamson at the post-match presentation.
“You need to build those partnerships and trying to maximise towards the end. An over or two can crack the game, that was our focus today. We got some reasonable match-ups and got what’s about par on this wicket,” he added.
Kiwis will face Afghanistan in their next match and Williamson said he is looking forward to that clash.
“They (Afghanistan) are a strong side and they have played good cricket, they have some match-winners throughout their team. Looking forward to that challenge,” he said.
The Kiwi skipper also spoke about the difference challenges at different venues.
“It’s a different venue so we need to make those adjustments quickly, it’s the nature of this tournament. You got to play at different venues and adjust quickly,” he said.
–IANS
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