If I was a New Zealand supporter, I would’ve demanded a refund: Gautam Gambhir
New Zealand were consistent throughout the ICC T20 WC 2021. After a thrilling victory against England in the semi-final, they proceeded to the final. However, Australia proved to be just too good for them and thus, their loss didn’t sit well with the former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir.
After being asked to bat first in the all important final, New Zealand did struggle in the powerplay overs. However, a Kane Williamson special which saw him score a superb 85 ensured that the Kiwis got to a score of 172. At first, the total did look good and several cricket experts predicted that New Zealand would be able to defend this total.
However, the mighty Aussies ended up beating them by 8 wickets. Fifties by David Warner and Mitchell Marsh ensured that there weren’t any hiccups during the chase. Thus, Australia went on to win their maiden T20 WC.
New Zealand’s performance wasn’t worthy of a final, says Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir was clearly unhappy over New Zealand’s loss in the final of the tournament. As a matter of fact, he even mentioned the fact that the BlackCaps were his favorite side after India. “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,” the former India opener wrote in his column for The Times of India on Tuesday.
“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 the same team that beat India or England in the semis.” he said.
The former KKR skipper also felt that their performance wasn’t worthy of a final. “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 second half. It wasn’t a performance worthy of a final,” said Gambhir.
Last but not the least, the former WC winner also criticized New Zealand’s game plan to dismiss Mitchell Marsh. “It was hard to understand why they (New Zealand) bowled short and on a wrong line to Mitchell Marsh. He is a Western Australian, played most of his cricket at WACA, Perth. So playing a pull shot would have been the first thing he would have learnt,” he said.
