Blackcaps captain Kane Williamson is typically humble in defeat, after New Zealand's loss to Australia in the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup final at Dubai.
The Kiwi skipper led from the front in his side's innings, topscoring with a breathtaking 85 runs from 48 balls and contributing the bulk of the Blackcaps' 172/4 from their 20 overs.
But that total was chased down in brutal fashion, as David Warner (53 from 38 balls) and Mitchell Marsh (77 not out from 50 balls) guided Australia home with eight wickets and seven balls to spare.
The loss is just another heartbreak for Williamson - his third World Cup final defeat, after also ending up on the wrong side of the 2015 and 2019 World Cup one-day deciders.
Williamson is quick to acknowledge the Australian performance, despite his side's disappointment.
"We weren't far away," he says. "Credit to the way the Australians chased that total.
"They didn't give us an inch. We were sort of relying on wickets throughout, making life a little bit difficult.
"It wasn't to be today. Also, [I'm] really proud of our team's effort throughout this tournament, real consistency with how we operated.
"We came here in the final and gave it our best shot, but it wasn't good enough tonight."
The final defeat aside, the 2021 T20 World Cup was nothing short of a brilliant campaign from the Blackcaps.
Ranked fourth in the world, the Blackcaps ended the campaigns of the two pre-tournament favourites - India and England - en route to their first final in the game's shortest format.
That achievement wasn't overlooked by Williamson.
"Guys really committed to what we tried to do in conditions that varied a lot from venue to venue," he says.
"We adapted well and played some good cricket, consistent cricket throughout, and [were] a very competitive side.
"There was a lot of heart shown, it's always good to get to the big dance. Credit to the way Australia played and their whole campaign.
"They're a team full of amazing players and today they really turned it on."
But in a cruel turn of events, the Blackcaps will have just three days to recover from their latest heartbreak, before beginning their tour of India with another Twenty20 International in Jaipur on Thursday morning (NZ time).
"Obviously we finish this campaign and such is life in the international schedule that you move your focus," he adds.
"No doubt, we're feeling this one a little bit. [We had] some high hopes coming into the game, some really good cricket played.
"It's never nice. You sign up to these sorts of things - winning and losing are two possible outcomes.
"Just a shame we couldn't get the job done today."
