Kane Williamson says New Zealand will relish the challenge of facing India after maintaining its perfect Cricket World Cup record with a seven-wicket defeat of Afghanistan.
The Black Caps cruised to a third victory out of three in the event on Saturday, bowling Afghanistan out for 172 and taking just 32.1 overs to reach its target.
Jimmy Neesham (5 for 31) claimed a maiden five-wicket ODI haul and Lockie Ferguson took 4 for 37 as Gulbadin Naib's side collapsed from 66 without loss. In response, captain Williamson crafted an unbeaten 79 and Ross Taylor made 48 in an emphatic victory for the 2015 runner-up.
REPORT | Seven-wicket win
New Zealand beat Sri Lanka and Bangladesh earlier in the tournament and Williamson knows India should provide its biggest test so far at Trent Bridge on Thursday. "We go to Trent Bridge, and we know the experience will be different there. We'll have to adapt to a different challenge." said the skipper.
"But we know that India are one of the best sides in this tournament. So it will be a really good challenge and the guys will look forward to it."
Williamson stressed the important of his side building momentum as it bids to be crowned World Cup champion for the first time. "I suppose as a side for us it's about trying to improve day in, day out with what we're trying to do as a team," he added.
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"And I guess at times in World Cups or different tournaments, when you are playing one-off games against opposition, you can look too much at the opposition when in fact, if you are playing the cricket that you want to be playing and hopefully getting better at that throughout the tournament, then that gives you the best chance.
"So we do have a couple of days off now, which is a good thing. There's a lot of cricket in this tournament. But at the same time the focus will turn to our next match at a different venue, different opposition and different challenge at hand."
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