New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson expressed disappointment over his workforce’s 70-run defeat in opposition to hosts India within the 2023 ICC World Cup semi-final in Mumbai on Wednesday, however was proud of the best way his workforce fought again from a place of no hope.

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The Men in Blue rode on centuries from Virat Kohli (117) and Shreyas Iyer (105) — the previous breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s document within the course of —  to put up a humongous 397/four on the board after electing to bat. The Black Caps have been then decreased to 39/2 inside the primary powerplay after Mohammed Shami had openers Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra caught-behind in successive overs, and will handle solely 46 runs within the first 10 overs.

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Williamson, nonetheless, led a spirited fightback from the Kiwis with a 181-run third-wicket partnership Daryl Mitchell that had the Indians on the backfoot at one stage throughout the second innings. While Williamson can be dismissed for 69, Mitchell would go on to deliver up his second century of the World Cup — each coming in opposition to India — earlier than getting dismissed on 134.

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Thanks to their fightback, New Zealand managed to outlive an early onslaught and take the sport deep as an alternative of crumbling like a home of playing cards the best way England, Sri Lanka and South Africa did.

“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, 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 stated throughout the post-match presentation after the Black Caps missed out on the chance to achieve three consecutive finals.

Read | Rohit Sharma credit India for staying calm in semi-final victory over NZ

Williamson was additionally effusive in his reward for Rohit Sharma and Co and felt they deserved to be within the closing at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.

“The effort was there, but like I said India are top class, 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. It wasn’t to be today but nice to be out there to give ourselves a chance,” the batting star added.

Williamson additionally mirrored on New Zealand’s marketing campaign this World Cup and made particular point out of all-rounders Ravindra and Mitchell. While Mitchell stood out for scoring two a whole bunch in opposition to the workforce that continues to be the one undefeated facet within the World Cup up to now, Ravindra completed as New Zealand’s prime run-scorer (578) on this version after being thrust right into a top-order position in Williamson’s absence.

“We had some incredible contributions, as a team there was 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,” Williamson added.