Though his team could not script a memorable victory in the semifinal against India like it did in 2019, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was proud of their effort to stay in the fight and move forward as a team.
New Zealand had overcome injury concerns to Williamson and pace bowler Tim Southee and lost key bowler Matt Henry going into their final league match to reach the last-four stage.But on Wednesday, they fell short against a brilliant effort by Rohit Sharma's team that piled on 397/4 and then braved a middle-overs fightback by Williamson (69) and Daryl Mitchell (134) to bundle out New Zealand for 327 and script a 70-run victory.
"Firstly, congrats to India, they played outstandingly well, probably their best game today. 400 was naturally going to be tough but credit to the guys, a proud effort to stay in the fight. Disappointing to go out but super proud of the effort that's gone in for the last seven weeks," Williamson said during the post-match presentation on Wednesday.
Williamson admitted that India were too good on Wednesday, especially their batters as they took the game away from New Zealand. "The effort was there, but like I said India are top class and have world-class batters who didn't give us a sniff really. You come in and get 400, it's a tick in the box. They deserve to be where they are, played outstandingly well," he said.
Williamson said it was nice for them to give themselves a chance. "It wasn't to be today but nice to be out there to give ourselves a chance. It was a fantastic crowd, unbelievable atmosphere, slightly one-sided in the support but special to be part of the tournament, great to be hosted here by India," he said.
He praised his players for some incredible contributions especially Rachin Ravindra and Michell for the way they batted in this tournament. "We had some incredible contributions, as a team there was a real commitment to the cricket we wanted to play, Rachin and Mitchell were special throughout the campaign, on varied surfaces.
They played really, really well. Bowlers chipped in, a lot of fight, proud of that. Even if it didn't go our way, ultimately moving forward as a team, we've taken some really good steps in the right direction," said Williamson.