New Zealand’s middle-order was something of a highlight throughout, says Kane Williamson

A narrow loss in the series decider against India is a hard pill to swallow but New Zealand captain Kane Williamson chose to look ahead, singling out the performance of Tom Latham-led middle-order at the end of a closely-fought contest. “There were lessons throughout the series, there always are when you play the best in the world. To perform the way we did in first game (in Mumbai) was our best performance of the tour so far, this one could have been the best but it was not to be on the day,” Williamson said, after his team’s six-run loss in the high-scoring series decider at Green Park on Sunday.

“However, there were a lot of good signs. 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,” said the skipper.

Williamson also praised his bowlers, “I thought the bowlers stuck at it really well. 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.”

New Zealand had faltered at the final hurdle in 2016 too, losing the five-match series in India 2-3. The Black Caps, though, were almost there before nerves got the better of them in the final five overs. New Zealand ended with 331/7 in response to India’s 337/6, which was the highest total at Green Park.

‘Hard to swallow’

Williamson acknowledged that it was a missed opportunity. “I mean, naturally you look back at a game, to lose by six runs, having come so close in a big run chase, is frustrating, disappointing, but if you sit back and look at the work that was put in that batting innings to get so close, it is a really promising thing for this batting unit,” he said. “Yeah, it is hard to swallow, another decider here on India. 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.”

The 27-year-old also defended his decision to bowl first on what panned out to be a batting paradise. “Yeah. It was good. I mean if you bowl first, you don’t want the opposition to get 337, but it was a very good surface and a very fast outfield. After the start that India got, the way we pulled it back in the last 10 overs was a good effort,” he said.

“The way the ball swung early, you are never far away from taking some early wickets, but India are a very good batting unit and they played very well. To restrict them was a good effort, the dew later in the evening was helpful, but you to move on, learn from that. I thought guys executed their roles really well. It came down to one or two deliveries.”

New Zealand will now play a three-match Twenty20 International series beginning in Delhi on Wednesday.