The Kane Williamson led New Zealand cricket team produced a sensational effort in the first semi-final of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021 to defeat England. The Kiwis have been receiving praises from all corners for their brilliant performances in the ongoing tournament.
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has acknowledged that playing in the second phase of the Indian Premier League 2021 in the UAE helped him in understanding the conditions better before heading into the high-voltage tournament.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Kane Williamson said that he believes Asian teams would have a clear advantage in the UAE however participating in the IPL made him realize that margins are fine and New Zealand has also been ‘fortunate“. He feels IPL adds a lot to the knowledge of this game. He said:
“The IPL and I suppose the other franchise comps, but certainly add a lot to the knowledge of the players from all countries,”
“And also add to the experience of being able to share and I think we’ve seen in this tournament and we certainly saw in the second half of the IPL the variability and the surfaces which, perhaps lent itself more naturally to certain sides. But you sort of in the moment you compete in different games and the margins are fine.”
It was five years ago when Kane Williamson led his team for the first time in an ICC event at the 2016 T20 World Cup and Williamson feels that a lot has changed since then. He said:
“We know coming into this tournament that truly any team could beat anybody and we sort of saw that throughout the competition and there are some sides that perhaps were favourites coming into it. And we’re fortunate on the day but I suppose that’s tournament sport as well.
“So it’s great we feel fortunate to have got through the stages and been playing some reasonable cricket and we want to continue to,”
As per Williamson, the shortest format of the game where any team could beat anybody and he feels fortunate to finish in the second position of the Super 12. He said:
“There have been some really good steps forward and this tournament compared to the last one, I suppose a few new faces and a real mixture of that sort of youth and experience.
“But, yeah, it’s been a nice journey, I suppose from five years ago. And it’s nice to be here and be involved in the semi-finals. But the guys are really looking forward to the challenge and want to continue to focus on the cricket that we’ve been playing and try and improve on it.”
Kane Williamson also showered praises on the sensational pace duo of Trent Boult and Tim Southee, who have played an instrumental role in the success of the New Zealand team. He said:
“They’ve been brilliant. They’ve been involved in the team in all formats for a long time and really experienced operators for us. And experienced in terms of playing in all different conditions,”
He added:
“And have been executing their skills beautifully and performing their realize to the highest standards. They’ve been doing a fantastic job for us, really leading our attack who have been performing well and adjusting well to the different surfaces that we’ve been on. And a real strength on our side.”
