On Wednesday, New Zealand beat England in an enthralling affair that had spectators on the edge of their seats throughout the match. As a result, they progressed to the T20 World Cup final.
The Kiwis scored a mammoth 109 runs in the last ten overs to reach the target at Abu Dhabi. At several stages in the game, England looked like favourites to win the contest. However, NZ opener Daryl Mitchell confessed that they always believed.
“No, it probably sounds weird, but it never felt like it was out of our grasp. I think especially with that smaller side boundary on one side, we knew that there were going to be match-ups there that might suit us towards the end,”
the-30-year-old admitted after the match.
The unfashionable opener scored a match-winning 72 off 47 deliveries to take the Kiwis to their first-ever T20I World Cup final. Jimmy Neesham is the talk of the town as the all-rounder smashed 27 off just 11 balls. The all-rounder’s cameo took the pressure off NZ and brought out mistakes from the England bowlers.
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Mitchell praised Neesham for dominating the England bowlers during his short stay at the crease. He reckons that Neesham shifted the momentum towards the New Zealanders.
“He played a hell of a knock,”
the opener said.
Thanks to Mitchell and Neesham, the Kiwis managed to score 60 runs in four overs (over 16th to 19th) to seal the deal with six balls to spare. It wasn’t always easygoing for Mitchell, who was on 28 off 28 balls in the 13th over. However, he broke loose during the penultimate over of the match and smashed three boundaries.
The match saw the demise of England’s so-called “white-ball dominance” under Eoin Morgan. The Blackcaps will be ecstatic to get one over the same side that beat them in the 2019 ODI World Cup in tragic fashion.
Back then, it was a Kiwi all-rounder (donning the England jersey: Ben Stokes) who made the difference. Yesterday, another New Zealand-born all-rounder contributed to the victory. However, this time it was for New Zealand.
NZ will face either Australia or Pakistan in the final on Sunday. Mitchell knows that the job isn’t done yet, so do all the New Zealand players and supporters, as they have been here before.
