Winners have the bragging rights but there was no such thing for Williamson who sympathised with India for paying the price for a fickle format despite consistent show.
New Zealand eye consolatory win over PNG
The presence of a host of experienced batters and bowlers, Latham said, makes India a formidable opponent.
A modest New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has said his team was "fortunate" to be playing on similar wickets after pulling off a dramatic victory over Australia in the ICC World Twenty20 in Dharamsala on Friday.
New Zealand made 152 for 1 in their first innings, when play was called off early because of rain, on Day 2 of the first cricket Test against India in Kanpur on Friday.
England skipper Eoin Morgan would like to believe his team peaked at the right time at the ongoing World Twenty20 while New Zealand were slightly premature going into Wednesday's semi-final at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium. Kane Williamson and his Kiwi team mates have not put a foot wrong since landing in India, winning all four group matches without really breaking a sweat to qualify for the semi-finals as the tournament's only unbeaten team. For a side boasting an explosive batting order and a balanced attack to go with, England's passage proved bumpier. Even before they could soak in the atmosphere, England were blown away by a Chris Gayle century in their tournament opener against West Indies in Mumbai.
Skipper Kane Williamson's brilliant 97 and Matt Henry's maiden five-wicket haul gave New Zealand a comprehensive 68-run victory over Pakistan in the final one-dayer in Abu Dhabi on Friday. New Zealand won the series 3-2.
New Zealand face England-beaters Afghanistan aiming to keep their unbeaten run intact
With Chennai Super Kings notching up a second straight win in Indian Premier League-8, the team's coach, Stephen Fleming, lavished praise on centurion Brendon McCullum while lauding the side's "dynamic" and "sensible" batting.
Despite their up and down showing in the league stage, there is no doubt that England are one of the most complete teams in the World Cup and are heavy favourites for Sunday's final, but New Zealand won't give up without a fight.
England will need to defeat Namibia in their last league match and hope that Scotland lose to Australia.
Latham admitted he has given thought to how to utilise the spinners at their disposal. New Zealand have Ish Sodhi, Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel among frontline tweakers and Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips also to roll over their arms.
'If he couldn't plan a successful strategy for a home series, how will he manage in a more challenging away series?', asks veteran cricket correspondent K R Nayar.
Having already played their opening encounters in the ongoing cricket World Cup, it is time for New Zealand and the Netherlands to venture deep into the tournament as they face each other in Hyderabad on Monday.
England are an ageing side alright, but few will dare to bet against Jos Buttler's men successfully defending their World Cup title in a few weeks time.
Sans Hardik, it's starting all over again for dominant India
New Zealand bowler Lockie Ferguson joined Canada skipper Saad Bin Zafar as only the second bowler in T20I history to bowl each of the allotted four overs as maidens, returning figures of 4-4-0-3. Zafar recorded 4-4-0-2.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing for the World Cup match against New Zealand?
With spin expected to have an impact on the outcome of the opening Test starting in Kanpur on Thursday, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is hoping that the lessons learnt during the World Twenty20 in India will help his side's spinners counter the hosts. New Zealand had reached the semi-finals of World T20 and Mitchel Santner (4/11 in 4 overs) had recorded the best figures for a Kiwi spinner in Twenty20s en route to their knock out stage appearance. Those figures had come for a winning cause against India in Nagpur and he was well supported by Ish Sodhi, who took three wickets in that match. These two spinners -- Santner and Sodhi -- will challenge the Indian batting line-up in this Test series.
Openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill thwarted New Zealand's plans with a gutsy batting display in tough conditions.
Batting first, Board President's XI made 295 for 9 in 50 overs and then bowled out the tourists for 265 in 47.4 overs.
Captain Kane Williamson led from the front with a superb century before his bowlers held their nerves in a close finish to help New Zealand edge past India by six runs in the second One-Day International in New Delhi, on Thursday.
Bruised and battered by India after being bundled out for a meagre 79 while chasing 270 in the series-deciding fifth and final ODI here, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson termed the performance of his batting department as "frustrating". Williamson said the Kiwi batsmen did not justify to lose eight wickets for just 16 runs. "That's what's so frustrating, because we failed as a batting unit. The spinners of the Indian side bowled very well but I don't think it is justified to lose 8 wickets for 16 runs. We need to look at some of our plans. There was turn in the pitch in some other games too but we were able to handle it better then," Williamson said after their massive 190-run defeat in the fifth and final ODI in Vizag.
New Zealand started the day shakily but recovered to post 229-7 at the close thanks to Williamson's 89 off 176 deliveries on a spinning track at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
IMAGES from the first semi-final of the ICC World Cup played between India and New Zealand at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The New Zealand team management knows what lies ahead for their players during the next six weeks in India, and it was no surprise that the spin troika of leg-spinner Ish Sodhi, off-spinner Mark Craig and left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner bowled a lot during a two-hour nets session at the Kotla in Delhi on Wednesday.
A stunning spell of a fast bowling from Matt Henry ripped through the Indian top order and set New Zealand on their way to a second successive ICC World Cup final with an 18-run victory over India.
New Zealand find themselves in the a difficult group with two-time champions West Indies and Afghanistan also vying for the the top two spots.
The mountain of runs being scored in the Indian Premier League shows Twenty20 cricket is changing and bowlers must move with the times or be left behind, New Zealand paceman Tim Southee said.
New Zealand are flying low at the World Cup and that suits them down to the ground, according to James Franklin. The seven-time semi-finalists are playing it cool in England and Wales, with the understated Kane Williamson at the helm.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson doffed his cap to pacer Mohammed Shami and the India team after his side was outplayed in the World Cup semi-final.
The duo had 15 seconds to challenge the decision but with no indications from Williamson, Taylor walked back to the pavilion.
New Zealand, who abandoned their white-ball tour of Pakistan last year due to security concerns, are looking to end a run of four straight test defeats with Southee as the new captain following the six-year tenure of Kane Williamson.
At stumps on Day Four, New Zealand's second innings score read 62/2 and the visitors have extended their lead to 165 runs. For the Kiwis, Tom Latham (30*) and Neil Wagner (2*) are unbeaten at the crease.
Talented youngster Shai Hope smashed his way to a blistering 101 while Andre Russell scored a quickfire 54 down the order to set up a 91-run win for World Cup dark horses West Indies in their warm-up game against New Zealand.
Despite the glossiness of their victory over New Zealand, Indian captain Rohit Sharma was candid enough to admit that the team felt a few strands of pressure going into the World Cup semifinal in Mumbai on Wednesday.
We had to fight really hard to reverse momentum, says Kane Williamson
Williamson has a chance to topple Kohli at the top of the rankings.
Carey was ultimately denied his second Test century but cared little as he and his captain steered their side to their target 281-7 and a sixth win in seven Tests over the Australasian summer.
New Zealand will play the World Cup-opener against England on Thursday without key pacer Tim Southee, who is yet to recover from his thumb surgery.
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