Blackcaps skipper Kane Williamson is focussing on the positives after his Sunrisers Hyderabad side was eliminated from the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs on Monday (NZ time).
Needing 190 runs to beat the Delhi Capitals in their qualifying final, the Sunrisers couldn't find the partnership that would carry them to victory. Williamson top-scored with 67.
Delhi will now face Trent Boult's Mumbai Indians in Wednesday's final.
Williamson will return to New Zealand in the coming days ahead of the Blackcaps' series against the West Indies, which begins on November 27.
The 30-year-old was left to rue what might have been after a challenging IPL season, which was played in Abu Dhabi as a result of the coronavirus.
"[It was] a season of fine lines I think," says Williamson. "We had a number of very close losses and we weren't perhaps playing at our best.
"I think every team is very, very strong. Everybody has beaten everybody and you have to be at the top of your game.
"As a team, we were looking for that rhythm to our play as a collective and it perhaps took a little bit of time.
"It was nice we were able to find it at the crunch time and win sort of four or five in a row, which gave us the opportunity, but as I say, we would have loved to have gone through, but it was not meant to be today."
Australian Marcus Stoinus set the tone for Delhi as he scored 38 runs with the bat, before taking three wickets with the ball in a man-of-the-match performance.
Kagiso Rabada finished with bowling figures of 4/39 as Delhi qualified for their first-ever IPL final.
"They're a very good side and I think they've been trying to find a rhythm to their play," Williamson says.
"They put a very competitive total on the board which, going into the second innings there are always risks that need to be taken and unfortunately we didn't get off to the best of starts.
"We managed to build a few partnerships through the middle period and we still had a little bit of an opportunity, so a real shame not to kick on in the tournament and make the final.
"I think, particularly in the last three weeks, the guys will be pretty proud of how they played."
