Hyderabad: Auckland Aces skipper Gareth Hopkins on Tuesday said it was "gut-wrenching" for his side to crash out of the Champions League twenty20 after coming so close to victory.
Auckland, who were beaten by Kolkata Knight Riders by just two runs last night, suffered a four-wicket defeat against Somerset on Tuesday night.
Gareth Hopkins said it was "gut-wrenching" for his side to crash out of the CLT20.
"It is gut-wrenching to go this close and fall short. We were just looking to play straighter, but I think we had enough with our experienced bowling line-up. The Somerset boys played really well in the end," Hopkins said after the match.
Chasing 126 to win, Somerset recovered from a mini-collapse and reached the target only in the last ball of the match with skipper Alfonso Thomas, himself, hitting the winning runs.
"We didn't deserve to win it until the last couple of overs really, the way we batted. It was a bit of deja vu really to go out and finish a game here," he said.
"The goal is always to get into the second half where we have two more international players coming," added Thomas.
Wicket-keeper batsman Steve Snell, who scored an unbeaten 34 off 24 balls to set up the runchase, said they were trying to be patient and were confident of pulling it off in the end.
"It was nice to be out there and playing in a high-pressure game. We were trying to be calm, and thought one boundary an over would win us the game," he said.
"We knew even if we needed 15 in the last over, we were in the game. Didn't want to lose it before that. Pretty delighted to get there in the end. I am a back-up for two internationals, a spare keeper if you like. So enjoyed it," he added.
Somerset will next play Kolkata Knight Riders in their second qualifying match on Wednesday.
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