Blackcaps coach Gary Stead has hailed the performance of captain Kane Williamson, after leading his side to a reasonable total in their Twenty20 World Cup final defeat against Australia in Dubai.
Batting first, the Blackcaps' innings was in danger of stalling at the halfway stage, reaching just 57/1 after 10 overs.
But a classy knock from Williamson (85) lifted the Blackcaps to a total of 172/4 from their 20 overs, at least ensuring Australia would have to work for their eventual victory.
In particular, Williamson took the attack to Australian spearhead Mitchell Starc, launching one over for 22 runs, as the speedster finished with figures of 0/60 from four overs.
On The AM Show, Stead praised Williamson's performance, after an underwhelming tournament by his own high standards.
"It was a really special innings out there," Stead says of his captain. "It took him a while just to get going.
"I think the first 10 or so balls, he was only on four or five, and then he decided to put the hammer down.
"He's just so special, he just plays great cricket shots. He never looks like he's slogging or anything like that out there.
"He certainly showed his class out there today and his ability on a wicket that was still holding a little bit... it wasn't a true, true wicket like we get in New Zealand."
Stead also laments the unfortunate trend of matches at this year's T20 World Cup being won by teams that won the toss.
Of the 45 matches played across the entire tournament - consisting of qualifiers, the Super 12 stage, two semi-finals and a final - only 14 were won by the side that lost the toss.
In part, bowlers struggled to adjust to night dew in the UAE, which helped the ball come onto the bat.
All up, 29 of the 45 games were won by the side batting second, including both semis and the final.
The obvious disadvantage has drawn criticism from fans, whose sides were condemned to defeat after losing the toss.
"We played seven games [and] I think won two tosses - that's certainly not Kane's strength," Stead jokes. "Something he definitely needs to work on.
"Here at Dubai, there were 11 or 12 games, I think, and they were all won by the chasing team.
"The dew just does have a bit of a factor later on in the night and I guess it makes the slower balls that you see in the first innings not as effective in the second innings."
The Blackcaps now face a three-day turnaround, before beginning their tour of India at Jaipur on Thursday morning (NZ time).
New Zealand play another three T20 Internationals, as well as two tests as part of the second iteration of the World Test Championship.
