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Following their 20-run loss to England in their ICC T20 World Cup match in Brisbane, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson lauded English bowlers saying that they put Kiwis under pressure.
Jos Buttler's blistering 73, followed by a superb bowling effort from bowlers helped England keep their semi-final hopes alive with a 20-win over New Zealand at the Gabba in Brisbane on Tuesday.
"Credit to the way England played, they put us under pressure. They played beautifully, hats-off to England, they were clinical,” Williamson said after the match.
“It was a slightly above par total. We tried to take it little deep, but credit to the way they bowled. It was quite tricky,” he added.
Talking about dropping a sitter to give England captain Jos Buttler a reprieve, Williamson said: “You do not want to be doing that, and he will make you pay. He played a beautiful knock in a big game for them. I thought I had squeezed it in my chest, it was a bit embarrassing in the end.”
Chasing 180, Kiwis lost two early wickets for 28 runs, following which Kane Williamson (40) and Phillips (62) put on a 91-run stand for the third wicket.
“He (Glenn Phillips) has been batting beautifully, he got a hundred in the last game, and changed the momentum in our favour somewhat today. You will be put under pressure in such tournaments, but we need to take the positives and move on to the next game," said Williamson in a post-match presentation.
After breaking the stand between Williamson and Phillips, England managed to pull back the game slowly. Phillips's wicket in the 18th over shifted the tide completely in Kiwis' favour, leaving them with 45 runs to make in last 15 balls. NZ finished at 159/6 and fell short by 20 runs.
Pacers Sam Curran (2/26) and Chris Woakes (2/33) were impressive for England. Ben Stokes and Mark Wood also picked a wicket each.
With this win, England has climbed to second spot in points table with five points and two wins in four games, with one being a loss and other being abandoned. NZ are still at the top with five points, with two wins in four. Just like England, they also have endured a loss and one of their matches was abandoned.
Defending champions Australia have slipped down to the third position after England's win. Though all three have five points each, a better net-run-rate has kept NZ and England in top two.