Pleased with middle-order’s performance against the best in the world, says Kane Williamson

NEW ZEALAND SKIPPER Kane Williamson conceded that he was disappointed after his side came close and failed to chase the 338-run target in the third ODI at Kanpur. 

The Kiwis lost by six-runs as Tom Latham’s run-out dismissal turned tables in the last two overs. Speaking at the post-match press conference, Williamson said that the defeat was ‘hard to swallow’ and iterated that it was a great challenge to play against Virat Kohli’s men.

“Naturally you look back at a game, to lose by six runs, having come so close in a big run chase, is frustrating, disappointing. It is hard to swallow, another decider here in India, but if you sit back and look at the work that was put in in that batting innings to get so close, it is a really promising thing for this batting unit. I think we put in some good performances, but you have got to be at your best when you play this Indian team, especially at home.”

Williamson showered praise on the middle-order and termed it has as the biggest takeaway from the series. 

“There were some lessons throughout the series; there always are when you play the best in the world. To perform the way we did in the first game was our best performance of the tour so far. This one could have been the best performance but it wasn’t to be on the day. A lot of good signs. I thought the bowlers stuck at it really well. Good surfaces. They were able to restrict a lot of the time and put a little bit of pressure despite the very good batting unit that India have. Our middle order with the bat was something of a highlight throughout this series. Particularly Tom Latham, from opening the batting to coming into the middle order, taking that role, adopting it like he has and batting so beautifully, it was a great sign for us.”

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