We had people stand up when it mattered, says NZ skipper Tom Latham
New Zealand captain Tom Latham on Sunday said it will take time to sink in that his team has whitewashed India 3-0 at home for the first time in its history.
After their back-to-back losses in Super Overs to India in the third and fourth T20Is, Pakistan pace spearhead Shoaib Akhtar on Friday raised questions on the Kiwis’ luck asking the viewers if they are the new chokers like South Africa.
On Friday, an excellent fifty from Manish Pandey powered India to 165 for 8 in 20 overs. In return half-centuries from Colin Munro (64 off 47) and Tim Seifert (57 off 39) kept New Zealand well on top of the chase but an anti-climax saw the Kiwis score only 10 runs off the final 12 balls.
Jasprit Bumrah bowled the penultimate over giving away just 4 runs. Following him, Shardul Thakur conceded just 6 runs in the final over to force a Super Over.
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“166 should have been an easy chase, but the Kiwis made life difficult for themselves. This goes to show they don’t have the nerves to handle pressure scenarios. Are they new chokers of the world? Are they the new South Africa who could never win in a tough situation? It’s very sad to see New Zealand struggling like this. I think New Zealand choke under pressure,” said Akhtar on his YouTube channel as quoted by IANS.
“They (New Zealand) have tied six matches and have managed to win only 1 Super Over. Looks like they have done specialisation in losing. Despite being a good team they could not achieve an easy target like 166,” he added.
Meanwhile, Akhtar also felt the visitors handled the pressure situations much better than New Zealand.
“India have better nerves, they know how to control such pressure situations so once the match went into the Super Over, they had no chance,” he expressed.
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