New Zealand pacer Matt Henry opened up after his side suffered an ODI series defeat against Pakistan on Wednesday.
Pakistan took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series after winning the third ODI by 26 runs.
“We were confident about chasing down the target. However, it would have been better if we had restricted Pakistan to a lower total. We needed better batting and partnerships to chase down the target which didn’t happen,” Henry told Geo News in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.
He also lauded debutant Cole McConchie, who played a spirited unbeaten knock of 64 runs in 45 balls to give New Zealand an outside chance of chasing down the target.
“Cole McConchie played really well on his debut. We knew about the potential he has in the batting department. If he had received support from the other end, we would have seen a better contest,” he said.
He also spoke about the importance of the tour ahead of the World Cup in India later this year.
“Our focus is entirely on this series at the moment since there is still some time left before the World Cup. This tour provided opportunities to youngsters, which is good in terms of experience,” he said.
The last two matches are on Friday and Sunday, also in Karachi.
Pakistan´s last ODI series win over New Zealand was in 2011 and since then they had lost six of the seven series, with one drawn.
"It´s always a relief when you win a series and it was a good team effort," said Pakistan captain Azam. "We put (on) a good total and then (the) bowlers were outstanding.
"The focus is now to not relax and come out strongly for the next two matches and hopefully we can continue to give one hundred percent."
Faizan Lakhani Faizan Lakhani is Deputy Editor (Sports) at Geo News.