New Delhi, May 13 (IANS): Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir believes it was unfortunate that New Zealand ended up on the losing side in the 2019 World Cup where they lost to England in the summit clash.

In the World Cup final played at the Lord's on July 14 last year, England were announced as champions on account of their superior boundary count against the Black Caps after both the stipulated overs and the subsequent Super Over ended in a tie.

England had scored 26 boundaries in total in the entire duration of the match as compared to 17 by the Black Caps and were thus crowned as champions.

"There should have been joint World Cup winners last time around. They should have gotten that tag of being World Champions, but it was unfortunate," Gambhir said while speaking on Star Sports 'Cricket Connected' show.

There was a lot of criticism for the boundary-count rule which was ultimately scrapped by the International Cricket Council last October.

The 2019 World Cup final result was unfortunate for the Kane Williamson-led side as they had also finished runners-up in the 2015 World Cup, with Australia emerging out as victorious.

"If you see their overall record, they have been very consistent. For the last one World Cup, and the World Cup before that, they were the runners-up and they have been very consistent," said Gambhir.

"I think they have been very competitive in every condition they have played. We don't give them enough credit," he added.