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Despite losing to India in the final, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting praised New Zealand's Champions Trophy campaign, emphasizing their tenacity and consistency. In every significant ICC event, Ponting currently believes that New Zealand will place in the top four. Cricket star Ricky Ponting has praised New Zealand's remarkable Champions Trophy run, which ended in a heartbreaking final defeat to India. Despite acknowledging that he had not selected them for the semifinals, Ponting was pleased by their impressive tournament performances.
New Zealand prepared well for the Champions Trophy by defeating formidable teams in the Tri-series against South Africa and Pakistan. They only lost twice, once in the group stage and again in the Dubai final against eventual champions India.
Ricky Ponting on New Zealand
"I don't think it (New Zealand's campaign) went wrong at all. I think they had another outstanding tournament. They were brilliant right the way through. I was asked at the start of the tournament who l thought the final four would be, and as soon as you start talking about fours for ICC events, you just have to put New Zealand in it, because they just always do it," Ponting said.
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"I didn't do it this time because I thought Pakistan would make it being home, and I thought South Africa would make it. So I didn't have New Zealand there, and sure enough, there they are again. What a dominant performance it was against South Africa in their semi-final to make it through to the final. You probably can't play a better game of one-day cricket than that. To bat first and make 360-odd, I think it's the highest total ever in a Champions Trophy game," he added.
The Black Caps performed admirably; special recognition should be given to captain Mitchell Santner for his leadership and to Glenn Phillips for his superb fielding. Kane Williamson's century in the semi-final match against South Africa was particularly noteworthy. Rachin Ravindra, who returned from injury, made significant contributions throughout the campaign as well.
Despite a valiant effort, New Zealand lost by four wickets in the final because they were unable to match India's strength. Ponting said they would continue to be among the favorites in ICC events going forward and commended their tenacity.
In their upcoming limited-overs series against Pakistan, which consists of three ODIs and five T20Is, New Zealand will look to build on their strong base and overcome their most recent setback.
