'We can't rely on other teams': Kane Williamson hopeful of New Zealand's WC semis qualification

Following their loss to Pakistan, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson stated that his team cannot depend on other teams to make it to the 2023 World Cup semi-finals. Batting first the Kiwis put on massive 401 runs on the board, however, Fakhar Zaman's exploits and rain tarnishing the game dampened all the hard work of the Blackcaps. With the DLS equation coming into play, Pakistan were adjudged the winner by 21 runs.

3 things you need to know

• Pakistan got the win over New Zealand by 21 runs (DLS)
• First-choice NZ captain, Kane Williamson returned to action and made an instant impact
• Rachin Ravindra scored another hundred for the Kiwis

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Pakistan vs New Zealand: Blitz in Bangalore

Dramatic turns of events and big stakes characterized the Pakistan vs New Zealand game. With Kane Williamson back from injury, New Zealand received a major impetus. Williamson made an instant impact and in the end, missed out on a well-deserved hundred by just 5 runs. His partner, Rachin Ravindra, however, was able to get to get to his century number 3 of the World Cup 2023. By virtue of Williamson and Ravindra's partnership and lethal cameos by Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, and Mitchell Santner, New Zealand scored their highest-ever total in an ODI World Cup.

Chasing 402, Pakistan lost Abdullah Shafique in the second over of the innings, but captain Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman pulled off a heist by putting 200 on the board in just 26 overs. Heavy rain ended the action and subsequently DLS method was consulted to form a bottom line and turns out Pak had breached the required juncture by 21 runs.

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Kane Williamson's comments after the match

Having borne the loss, NZ captain Kane Williamson was of the opinion that New Zealand's approach will be similar to what was showcased in this game and they would not be relying on the other teams to advance to the semis.

"Yeah, I mean, I think the approach will be very similar. We can't rely on other teams obviously as you get down to some small, small margins of whether it's run rate or your last match. You know, anything can happen really, but our focus is very much still on the cricket that we want to keep playing and adjusting to what's in front of us. And we've done that in really positive ways and also being challenged at certain times which you fully expect in these sorts of competitions. So, we can't control what other people are doing, but we can really focus on our next game and preparing well for that," said Williamson after the match.

New Zealand's final round-robin game will be against Sri Lanka. The 2019-runner-ups are still at the number 4 position on the points table, thanks to the superior NRR, but following the loss against Pakistan, a win has become imperative for them in order to qualify for the semi-final stage. The New Zealand vs Sri Lanka game is scheduled to be held on November 9, 2023