Daniel Vettori lauds fielders, bowlers for win
New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori lauded his bowlers and fielders after the team cruised into the semi-finals of the World Cup with a superb 49-run win over South Africa in the quarters here Friday.
“Every single bowler stepped up today, and probably it was the fielding that got us through. Martin Guptill was exceptional. Once we got 220, we knew we had to be aggressive. We were hanging in there even when Jacques Kallis and AB were going,” he said.
“We wanted 250 on this pitch. We lost some wickets, and scrapped through to 220. We knew it was a tricky wicket, and knew it was going to be an old-school one-day game. That’s the sort of game we like to play.
“Once we got de Villiers and Kallis, we were back in it. The run out of de Villiers was an amazing piece of work. We are pretty happy to be in the semis, and will be glued to the TV to see how the wicket in Colombo plays tomorrow,” he added
Man of the Match Jacob Oram said he used his height advantage to catch Kallis in the deep.
“I don’t want to take credit for that one, but I suppose Kallis’ dismissal was the turning point of the match. It’s so hard when you are injured continuously to get any rhythm, so the feeling has been better to be on the field.
“We believe we can go all the way now. This is among the best moments in my career, another one is beating South Africa in the 2003 World Cup,” he said.