A heartbroken Jimmy Neesham had contemplated retirement after the 2019 World Cup final. He was the unbeaten batter when the number of boundaries hit decided that New Zealand would not be lifting the trophy. In a redemption of sorts, Neesham (27 off 11) paired with Daryl Mitchell (72 off 47*) to help New Zealand topple the England hurdle to storm into their first ever T20 World Cup final.
New Zealand's only chase in excess of 140 had come against the Netherlands, in 2014. On that occasion, they had chased 152. A target of 167 was unchartered territory.
To compound their problems, New Zealand started disastrously, as Chris Woakes broke the backbone of their batting. Martin Guptill was dismissed in the first over and Kane Williamson in the third, and the Powerplay yielded only 36/2.
Dew had been the primary reason for Williamson opting to bowl after winning the toss. However, with no dew in the second innings, the decision almost seemed to backfire in a high-pressure game.
Mitchell struggled to get going, and Devon Conway (46 off 38) hung on to ensure New Zealand had the platform for the big hitters. Mitchell and Conway added 82 off 66 balls to keep the Kiwis in the hunt.
Bowling off-spin to the left-handers and leg-spin to right-handers, Liam Livingstone (4-0-22-2) kept the pressure on, pushing New Zealand to the back foot after the end of his spell. They needed 57 from the last four overs.
Renowned for his power hitting, Livingstone finished the tournament with six wickets at an average of 14.33, going for 5.7 an over. Moeen Ali, who even has better numbers in the tournament (14-0-77-7), did not get to bowl at all.
Chris Jordan’s 17th over changed the equation, as Neesham struck two sixes and a four. There was some drama when Jonny Bairstow attempted a catch near the boundary ropes. He had touched the rope during a valiant effort, and the on-field umpire ruled a six as a soft signal.
New Zealand-England key clashes are not new to umpiring controversies.
The 23-run over, followed by Adil Rashid’s 14-run 18th over, made it easier for the Kiwis.
Neesham and Mitchell added 40 in 17 balls for the fifth wicket before the former fell to Rashid. With 20 required off two overs, Mitchell got all the runs in the 19th over, bowled by Woakes, to see New Zealand home with an over to spare.
Moeen helps England’s batting cause
Electing to field, New Zealand were right on the money with disciplined bowling. Tim Southee (4-0-24-1) and Trent Boult (4-0-40-0) swung the ball and beat the edges, though the latter leaked 16 off the fourth over of the innings.
While Jos Buttler was cashing in on his form, Bairstow’s (13 off 17) return to the opening slot to replace Jason Roy was far from fluent. His struggles finally ended in the sixth over, courtesy an excellent catch by Williamson at mid wicket.
Known for explosive batting, England managed only 40 in their Powerplay. The New Zealand bowlers have conceded 35.3 on an average in the Powerplay in this tournament.
Buttler (29 off 24) perished in the ninth over, leg before, trying to reverse sweep Ish Sodhi. Moeen joined Dawid Malan, second in the ICC ranking for T20I batters, to begin the rebuilding.
Malan’s love for the New Zealand attack was evident when he launched a series of alluring cover drives. Dropped by makeshift wicketkeeper Conway in the 10th over, off the bowling of Neesham, he made them pay.
Malan (41 off 30) and Moeen added 63 off 43 balls before the former fell to Southee in the 16th over after striking the first six of the match. This was the first time England did not hit a six in the first 15 overs since their 2014 T20 World Cup match against the Netherlands. However, this time they did hit four sixes.
Against New Zealand, Malan now has 361 runs in seven T20Is at an average of 60.2, striking at 155.
Moeen’s unbeaten 37-ball 51 helped England’s innings get a strong finish.
Despite starting well with the ball, New Zealand lost the plot in the middle overs. Playing to the match-ups against a left-hander-laden England middle-order, New Zealand used as many as seven bowlers. The left-arm spin of Mitchell Santner, whose tournament economy rate has been 6.6, was used for just one over.
Mis-fields and dropped chances, not usually associated with the New Zealand, compounded their problems.
New Zealand will play the winner of the match between Australia and Pakistan in the final on Sunday. This will be New Zealand’s fourth final appearance in the last five Senior Men's ICC tournaments, starting 2015.
Brief scores: England 166/4 in 20 overs (Moeen Ali 51*; Jimmy Neesham 1-18) lost to New Zealand 167/5 in 20 overs (Daryl Mitchell 72*; Liam Livingstone 2-22) by 5 wickets and 6 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Daryl Mitchell.