With the day dominated by a controversy over a used pitch being provided for the semifinal of the Men’s ODI World Cup 2023, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson admitted that it was a pretty good surface really as the Black Caps crashed out to hosts India on Wednesday.
News report had claimed that the BCCI got the pitch swapped from a fresh one earmarked for the final to one on which two matches were already played, to assist their spinners.
In the end, it was a dry and slow pitch on which three batters — Virat Kohli (117), Shreyas Iyer (105) of India and Daryl Mitchell (134) of New Zealand — struck centuries and Mohammed Shami of India claimed a seven-wicket haul (7-57).
Williamson admitted it was a good pitch despite being used earlier in the match.
“Yeah, it was a used wicket, but a pretty good surface really, as we saw. I mean, they got plenty out of it in the first half of the match. And conditions, I guess they change as they go under lights and things, and that’s what we’ve seen throughout this competition. That’s fine, that’s what you expect and they played really well,” he said in the post-match press conference on Wednesday.
Williamson said though it was disappointing to lose the semifinal, he was proud of his team as it fought well throughout the seven-week event.
“So yeah, I mean it’s disappointing to get to this stage and not go further, but also at the same time you sort of reflect on the seven weeks rather than a couple of small moments and we lost to a better side,” said Williamson.
Asked what was the difference between the two teams on Wednesday, Williamson said while India were outstanding, his team did not create many meaningful opportunities in the first half of the match.
“Yeah, I suppose we’ll sit down and talk about that a little bit I mean; we move on quite quickly now to another series but sometimes you have to tip your cap to a team that plays well and I mean they were outstanding.
“For us as a team, you’re always trying to do things better. You do your homework, you train hard, you try and come up with some different options. When you have a team like India at the top of their game, and sometimes that’s not enough resistance, and it wasn’t today.
“I mean, we didn’t create many meaningful opportunities that could actually change the flow of runs in that first half and that wasn’t through lack of effort, it was just quality on the opposition side and we were sort of searching and yeah, they did it well from the start.
“For us, it’s sucking it up and taking it on the chin taking those experiences in to become a better side and move forward,” he said.
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