• Home
  • Who Said What
  • Ground Wasnt Big Enough Williamson Applauds Fakhar Zamans Heroic Ton Vs Nz

'Ground Wasn't Big Enough' -  Williamson Applauds Fakhar Zaman's Heroic Ton vs NZ

image-lok6msbdNZ waiting for the game to resume (Source: AP Photo)

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson wasn't too pleased with how things unfolded in Bengaluru after rain played its part in helping Pakistan secure a 21-run victory through the DLS (Duckworth Lewis Stern) method in World Cup 2023. Opener Fakhar Zaman was the primary star for Pakistan, who smashed an outstanding century by scoring 126* runs with skipper Babar Azam's valuable contribution of 66* runs.

All this happened after BlackCaps' Rachin Ravindra wreaked havoc with his third World Cup century earlier in the day as it propelled his side to a mammoth total of 401 in 50 overs. Williamson, during the post-match interview, praised Pakistan, especially Fakhar for his valiant fight that kept them in the game.

Adding that a full game would have been better, considering both sides get closer on run-scoring when overs are reduced, which is a disadvantage for them.

"Obviously a nice first half. Weather played its part but can't take away from Pakistan. Zaman - the ground wasn't big enough for him. They played exceptionally well and gave themselves every chance. Match getting shortened brings both teams closer together. Would've been nice to have the full 50."

Moreover, the Kiwi skipper asserted that it's difficult to bowl when one side is shorter, but Pakistan thoroughly deserved the win in this game.

"Was tricky to protect the shorter side. Full credit, they deserved the result today. I thought the contributions throughout were great. Clearly a very good surface. Can be tough on the bowlers sometimes,"

Talking about the pitch, Williamson rated it as a good surface and said they couldn't get the batters out when they needed to strike, as the left-right combo makes things difficult.

"Rachin is batting absolutely beautifully. There's always small margins with the ball. If you get a wicket or two, you can take the short side out of it with the left-right combo. But we couldn't do that."

This was New Zealand's fourth consecutive loss in the World Cup, which means their final game against Sri Lanka would be a do-or-die contest on 9th November.