NEWS
Follow UsExpressing his disappointment over New Zealand's performance in the T20 World Cup final, former India batter Gautam Gambhir says that seeing the Blackcaps' bullied around was not a pleasant experience.
“My favourite side after India (for the T20 World Cup) was New Zealand. Seeing them bullied around like an apprentice wasn’t a pleasant experience,” Gambhir wrote in his column for Times of India.
Riding on the back of a magnificent 85 from Kane Williamson, New Zealand posted 172 on the board in the final against Australia. However, they were completely overpowered in the second half of the match as fifties from David Warner and Mitchell Marsh handed Australia their maiden title in this format.
On that performance, Gambhir says that it was not worthy of a final and as a New Zealand fan, he would demand a refund. "They batted very well to score 172 for four. More often than not this kind of score isn’t that tough to defend, especially with a balanced attack like that of New Zealand. But clearly, the occasion got to them as they didn’t look like the same team that beat India or England in the semis,” Gambhir felt.
“New Zealand is one team that prides itself on meticulous planning, clear role definitions, precise execution, and all this without any fanfare. If I was a New Zealand supporter, I would have demanded a refund seeing my team all over the place in the second half. It wasn’t a performance worthy of a final,” Gambhir concluded.