“You get to a final and anything can happen” - Kane Williamson reflects on crushing loss in T20 World Cup 2021 final 

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson stated that he was proud of the team despite the disappointing loss to Australia in the T20 World Cup 2021 final.

The Kiwis were hammered by eight wickets in the summit clash as they failed to defend a total of 172. While New Zealand are the reigning Test champions, they are yet to lift a white-ball World Cup. They had previously gone down in the 2015 and 2019 50-over finals.

At a post-match conference, Williamson was asked for his reaction on the team’s inability to win World Cup finals. He stated in a philosophical tone:

“When you play the game, you win and you lose. These are things that can happen on any day. If you look at the campaign as a whole and the type of cricket that we have been able to play, we are very proud of our efforts throughout this period of time. You get to a final and anything can happen. You (referring to journalist) mentioned the 2019 final, which can be a longer discussion if you have some time. All these different fine lines and results they happen.”

Williamson added that New Zealand played some good cricket in the final as well but it wasn’t enough as Australia were far superior. Williamson stated:

“Today, we turned up and played some really good cricket. It wasn’t quite good enough and that’s sort of just the way it goes. For us, it is about still putting our energy into the right areas and trying to build on the positives. You want to win these competitions but so do a lot of the other teams.”

Williamson top-scored for New Zealand with a blazing 85 off 48 balls. However, Mitchell Marsh (77* off 50) and David Warner (53 off 38) lifted Australia to their maiden men's T20 World Cup triumph.

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“You keep looking at things you can improve on” - Williamson on gearing up for next year’s T20 World Cup

Following the conclusion of the T20 World Cup in the UAE, teams will now start preparing for the 2022 edition to be held in Australia. On how New Zealand will prepare for the challenge next year, Williamson said that their goal has always been to improve as a team. He elaborated:

“You look at one game here, one game there and the wins and losses but the bigger picture is the important one. And it is trying to improve as a group. We came here with a mix of experienced and younger players. For a lot of them, it was their first time in a World Cup. They played extremely well and are much better for the experience that they have had. As a cricket team, you keep looking forward at the things that you can improve on.”

Australia were originally scheduled to host the T20 World Cup in 2020, before it was postponed due to COVID-19. The rescheduled event will be held from October 16 to November 13, 2022.