New Zealand has been a consistent contender in major cricket tournaments over the past six years. They reached the ODI final against Australia in 2015 but unfortunately lost. In 2019, they made it to the ODI final again, this time against England, but suffered another defeat. However, their fortunes turned in the Test Championship Final against India, where they emerged victorious. Now, they find themselves in the ICC T20 World Cup Final, awaiting their opponent.
The match was quite in favor of England from first ball to 16th over of NZ inning but The big over of Jordan made things easy for New Zealand and than Mitchel finished in style hitting in 19th over, History repeated in reverse for NZ.
Daryl Mitchell’s outstanding unbeaten half-century propelled New Zealand into their first-ever ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final, overcoming England in a thrilling semifinal clash in Abu Dhabi.
Chasing a target of 167, the Black Caps found themselves on the back foot early as key players Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson were dismissed by Chris Woakes within the first three overs of their innings.
The innings was revitalized by Mitchell and Devon Conway, who forged an important 82-run partnership for the third wicket. Then, Jimmy Neesham’s quickfire 26 off just 10 balls shifted the momentum in their favor.
Mitchell clinched victory for New Zealand by striking the winning runs from the final ball of the 19th over, ending with a well-made 72 off 47 deliveries. This victory served as sweet revenge for Williamson’s side, who had suffered a heart-wrenching defeat against the same opponents in the dramatic 2019 Cricket World Cup final.
England’s total of 166 for four was powered by Moeen Ali’s unbeaten 51. Despite Liam Livingstone’s impressive bowling performance, taking two wickets for 22 runs, England’s hopes of being the first men’s team to simultaneously hold both ICC World Cups have been dashed.
England opted to bat first, and their new opening combination of Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler faced a stern examination from New Zealand’s seamers early in the innings.
Buttler found his rhythm with consecutive boundaries off Trent Boult. However, Bairstow’s innings was cut short after he chipped the first delivery he faced from Adam Milne to a diving Kane Williamson at mid-off.
England had been strong starters with the bat during the Super 12s, but in this match, they reached the end of the powerplay at 40 for one. At this point, Williamson introduced spin to maintain the pressure.
Buttler eased some pressure with a reverse sweep boundary off Mitchell Santner. However, attempting the same shot again led to his dismissal, as Ish Sodhi’s delivery struck him on the knee roll, sending him back to the pavilion for 29.
Moeen Ali and Dawid Malan then partnered up. Malan got a reprieve when Conway dropped a challenging low chance to his left off Jimmy Neesham’s bowling, with Malan on ten.
Malan responded with a magnificent cover drive, taking England to the halfway stage in style. He then went inside out through the same region twice in three balls against Glenn Phillips, pushing the run rate above seven.
Moeen wasted no time capitalizing on loose deliveries, cutting Sodhi to the point boundary and then working Boult through fine leg. The innings delicately poised at 110 for two after 15 overs.
England’s momentum was halted when Malan feathered an edge behind after pulling Tim Southee for the first six of the match. However, Moeen stepped on the accelerator, dispatching Sodhi and Milne into the stands.
Newcomer Liam Livingstone wasted no time in finding his rhythm, smashing Milne for an 88-meter straight six in an 18th over that cost 16 runs. However, he couldn’t replicate the same power against Neesham, picking out Santner at long-off.
Moeen reached his 50 off 36 balls later in the final over, which ended with Morgan being dropped by an off-balance Phillips in the deep, as England set the Black Caps a target of 167 to win.
The total seemed about par, but any hopes New Zealand had of making quick inroads were quickly dashed as Morgan’s men, and specifically Woakes, made a dream start with the ball.
The response was only three balls in when Guptill, who had hit his first delivery for a four, got a leading edge that was easily caught by Moeen at mid-on.
And Woakes’s work was not done there as he went on to claim the huge early scalp of Williamson, whose attempted scoop did not have the legs to clear Adil Rashid at short fine leg to leave New Zealand 13 for two.
Mitchell and Conway took on the task of repairing the damage, starting to pick up valuable boundaries. They skillfully navigated the rest of the powerplay, which concluded with an excellent cover drive by Conway.
Between the sixth and ninth overs, only 14 runs were scored. However, Conway broke the shackles by lofting Livingstone down the ground for a much-needed boundary as the required run rate approached 11.
He followed up by flaying Mark Wood over backward point for a remarkable six, and Mitchell soon cleared the ropes himself – despite a magnificent effort by Chris Jordan on the long-off boundary – as the pair continued to keep Black Caps dreams alive.
Livingstone then made a significant impact by taking two quick wickets. Conway was stumped for 46, and Phillips was caught by Sam Billings at the long-off boundary, leaving New Zealand with a target of 57 runs required from the final four overs.
But the pendulum swung towards the Black Caps during a dramatic 17th over as Jimmy Neesham ran riot.
Jonny Bairstow hit two sixes off Chris Jordan. In the second instance, Bairstow’s knee touched the boundary rope just before he threw the ball to Liam Livingstone. This added up to 23 runs overall, and the onslaught continued even when Adil Rashid came back to bowl.
Neesham and Mitchell both hit sixes, with Mitchell reaching his half-century in the process. However, the game took another turn when Neesham was caught by Morgan at cover, leaving 20 runs needed from the last two overs.
They needed just one more run to finish the job, but successive sixes from Mitchell brought the target into single digits. A boundary behind square leg then triggered the celebrations.
New Zealand will now face either Australia or Pakistan in Sunday’s final as they aim to add T20 glory to their ICC World Test Championship crown.
Scores in Brief
New Zealand beat England at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi by five wickets
England 166/4 in 20 overs (Moeen Ali 51 not out, Dawid Malan 41; Jimmy Neesham 1/18, Tim Southee 1/24)
New Zealand 167/5 in 19 overs (Daryl Mitchell 72 not out, Devon Conway 46; Liam Livingstone 2/22, Chris Woakes 2/36)
Player of the Match: Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand)
