New Zealand beat England by five wickets to reach the final of the T20 World Cup after a thrilling semi-final in Abu Dhabi; Moeen Ali went 51 unbeaten when England went 166-4, but Black Caps starter Daryl Mitchell scored 72nd of 48 balls to bring his side to the line with an over to spare.
Daryl Mitchell scored a brilliant 72nd to lead New Zealand to victory
Some shocking late shots from Daryl Mitchell and James Neesham led New Zealand to a thrilling five-wicket win over England to take their place in the T20 World Cup final.
Set 167 to win in Abu Dhabi, New Zealand looked in real trouble at 107-4 in the 16th inning, but a brilliant 11-ball barrage from Neesham brought in 27 runs, including three sixes, and even as he fell to Adil Rashid, starter Daryl. Mitchell (72nd of 48 balls) took over with back-to-back highs from Chris Woakes to put the Black Caps on edge.
The right-hander then nailed a cap on the last ball of the 19 over to seal the victory with an over to spare and end England’s bid to become the first team to hold the 50 over and T20 World Cups.
After such an irritating defeat to England in the 2019 World Cup final, New Zealand has won a modicum of revenge and now has a chance to add the T20 crown to the ICC World Trials Championship that it won earlier in anus.
Kane Williamson didn’t hesitate to choose to chase after winning the draw, continuing a trend in the tournament, and with Tim Southee and Trent Boult charging and finding some swing with the new ball, England’s starters got off to a cautious start.
Jos Buttler got things moving with back-to-back limits against Boult and Jonny Bairstow (13 of 17), promoted to the top of the order in Jason Roy’s absence, added four of his own back over Southee’s head, only to fall before Adam. Milne’s first ball in the next over: Williamson with a good catch in the middle.
The big breakthrough came early in the ninth when Ish Sodhi (1-32) outscored Buttler (29 of 24) lbw on the reverse sweep, England’s most dangerous and fit hitter disappeared before he could do any real damage. .
Moeen Ali came out to join Dawid Malan, who had been brought down early by Devon Conway, and the two lefties initially took a more moderate approach, keeping the score going as they faced the surface.
Malan was the first to up the ante, wonderfully hitting through and over the extra cover four times to find the cap to help the fifties association emerge.
The world’s No. 2 hitter T20I crushed Southee (1-24) over the midwicket for the first six of the day to move to 40, but went to the next ball, passing Conway to lead Liam Livingstone to the fold.
However, it was initially Ali who attacked the Black Caps players, hitting Sodhi’s spin and then Milne’s pace (1-31) over the leg for highs before Livingstone threw the latter over his head for another six.
England were getting the big finish they wanted and even when Livingstone dropped two balls in the last over, Ali (51st of 37) threw the ball halfway for a one-rebound four to improve his half-century and a knockdown catch. from Glenn Phillips, the last ball allowed England two more, for 99 runs in the last 10 overs.
New Zealand quickly found themselves against him when starter Martin Guptill (4) fell to Woakes in the first over before England closer fired kiwi talisman Williamson (5), the right-hander who missed a ramp shot to Adil Rashid. in the short. thin leg – as part of a porticoed maiden in her second.
Mitchell and Conway helped avoid a full-blown collapse and gradually rebuilt the innings, but with England’s bowlers showing great discipline, scoring was tough and New Zealand struggled to 58-2 in the middle of the chase, needing 109 more in the second half. .
Mark Wood’s first two overs had cost just 10 runs, but New Zealand came out with renewed purpose after the drink break and took 15 of the third from the fast thrower.
Another productive over followed against Rashid, but the run rate was still above 10 and New Zealand had to keep coming, prompting Conway (46 of 38) to overtake one from Livingstone and buttler stumped him.
The impressive Livingstone (2-22) kept moving towards his end and the decision paid off as Phillips, the man with the most sixes in T20 cricket this year, caught in the long run to further increase the pressure on New Zealand. .
England were very wrong if they thought the game was over as Neesham brought the Black Caps back with a remarkable 17 on which Chris Jordan (0-31) threw two pins, with two sixes, including one that Bairstow caught but He couldn’t quite get rid of it before his knee hit the boundary mat, and a total of 23 runs were scored.
That gave New Zealand all the boost they needed, as 57 required of 24 balls became 34 of 18 and then 20 of 13 when Neesham and Mitchell took the ropes off Rashid (1-39).
England’s leg-spinner had Neesham caught from the last ball of the over to put the game on the balance, but Mitchell soon hit New Zealand’s way with six straight over Woakes’ leg (2-36).
A couple of singles followed before Mitchell had to break the victory limit and send New Zealand to Sunday’s final.
Pakistan and Australia They will fight in Dubai on Thursday (1.30pm Sky Sports Cricket) in the second semi-final, each of which will compete to join New Zealand in the final on Sunday (1.30pm Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event), also in Dubai.
Watch the T20 World Cup live on Sky Sports.
