With the Kiwis upsetting their Champions Trophy title dream, Pakistan skipper Younis Khan says his New Zealand counterpart Daniel Vettori was the difference between the two teams in Saturday's second semi-final.
Riding on Vettori's all-round performance New Zealand beat Pakistan by five wickets to set up the Champions Trophy summit clash against arch-rivals Australia on Monday.
Vettori first shone with the ball with 3 for 43 spell and then scored vital 41 runs to share a match-winning 106-run fifth wicket stand with Grant Elliot (75 not out).
"He (Vettori) gave a fantastic all-round performance. He was the difference between two teams," a dejected Younis said after the loss.
The Pakistan captain braved all odds to play with a broken finger in the tournament but eventually the injury might have cost his side a final berth as Younis said if it was not for the finger, he would not have dropped Elliot.
Younis dropped a simple catch of Elliott when the batsman was on 42 with New Zealand's score at 175 for 4 in the 40th over.
"If it wasn't this broken little finger (on the right hand), I would have caught with fingers pointing downwards rather than upwards. I didn't want to hurt my finger," he said.
Younis also came hard on his batsman for failing to capitalise on powerplays and compared their efforts with the Kiwis, who plundered 55 runs from their five powerplay overs.
"It was upsetting. When it was our turn, our batsmen failed. When it was their turn, our bowlers failed," he said.
Incidentally, a lot of close lbw appeals against New Zealand were turned down by umpires, besides Pakistan top-scorer Umar Akmal was wrongly adjudged leg before by Simon Taufel.
The Pakistan captain, however, preferred to play if safe and instead of pointing fingers at the umpires directly, he said his team's performance on Saturday was not up to the mark.
"The ICC would haul me up if I say anything about the umpiring. The truth is, our bad fielding, poor catching and a few close decisions went against us," Younis said.
Younis also showered praise on the youngsters for their impressive performance during the tournament.
"Mohammed Aamer, Umar Akmal and Saeed Ajmal all gave fantastic performances. With youngsters doing so well, the future sure is bright for Pakistan," he said.
