Captain Kane Williamson has urged the Blackcaps to put their humiliation at the hands of Afghanistan in their T20 World Cup opener behind them as quickly as possible, as they try to salvage their already teetering campaign.
After taking it to the NZ bowlers to post a target of 160, the Afghanistan attack ran through the NZ order, dismissing them for just 75 in the 16th over to hand them a humiliating 84-run defeat and record their maiden victory against the Kiwis.
"Incredibly frustrating performance," said Williamson. "We certainly did prepare to the best of our ability, so no excuses.
"For us, it's moving on quickly. We know we've got a match in a few days and it's about putting out a better performance."
Williamson heaped praise on the Afghans for their outstanding display in all facets of the game, acknowledging his team were well below par - particularly in the field, where they shelled a series of catches - and perhaps underdone after the lack of any warm-up matches.
"We need to be a lot better," he said. "That performance from us married up to an outstanding performance from Afghanistan and it wasn't good enough.
"They showed their skill today and we were outplayed. They had every opportunity to get a very good score.
"Our fielding didn't help our cause - without a doubt, that would be the most frustrating part for me. It is something we pride ourselves on, so that was very disappointing."
The Blackcaps need to quickly regroup for their second pool match against hosts West Indies, where a second defeat would likely put an end to their hopes of progressing to the knockout phase of the tournament.
"We know how strong the West Indies side are," Williamson noted.
"[Yesterday] was disappointing, but I've been part of this and in tournament sport, it's about picking yourselves up and moving on quickly."
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