New Zealand registered a thrilling five-wicket win over England to make it to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title game. With 57 runs needed in four overs and the chase looking virtually over, James Neesham and Daryl Mitchell put on a boundary galore to ensure that the New Zealand team reaches third finals in as many top-level ICC tournaments since 2019.
This is the second time in a row that the two teams have put on a show in a knockout game after the 50 Over 2019 World Cup Finals at Lord’s where New Zealand lost in a heartbreaking fashion. Surely, they have buried the ghost, and fittingly, James Neesham, who was involved in crunch time moments in the 2019 Finals gave the team a huge lift.
Moeen finishes strongly for England, Malan impresses
At 53 for two, England’s innings were going nowhere with 12 overs to go and their star batter Jos Buttler had already fallen. Dawid Malan and Moeen Ali put together a 63 runs partnership. Dawid fell after making 41 runs off 30 balls while Moeen Ali ended up with 51 runs off 37 balls as he teed off in the latter parts of England’s effort. Liam Livingstone also hit a six and four for his 10-ball 17 runs as England finished with 166. For New Zealand, Tim Southee remained effective conceding just 24 runs in her four overs for a wicket.
Mitchell and Neesham rescue act
New Zealand had a poor start, losing Guptill on the third ball of their innings for just 4 runs. Williamson couldn’t muster up anything special and fell at the score of 13. This is when Daryl Mitchell and Devon Conway put together a much-needed 82 runs partnership but England held the momentum after taking the wicket of Devon Conway and the team needed 72 runs in 38 balls at that point.
Glen Phillips went cheaply and pressure mounted on the Kiwis. However, the team’s ultimate chasm Jimmy Neesham came to the forefront, and with 57 runs needed in four overs, the duo of Daryll and Neesham cut loose. After hoarding 37 runs in just two overs the team needed 20 runs after losing Neesham. Daryl went berserk against Woakes and his two sixes sealed a finals spot for New Zealand.
Daryl Mitchell made 72 runs in 47 balls. Devon Conway scrapped 46 runs in 38 balls while Jimmy Neesham made a rocketing 27 runs in a mere 11 deliveries to drive New Zealand home under dire circumstances. For England, Liam Livingston had impressive returns with two wickets for 22 runs in his four overs.