T20 World Cup 2021: Determined Daryl Mitchell helps New Zealand trump England, reaches maiden tournament final
New Zealand trumped England in the semis of the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup on Wednesday. As a result, the Kiwis have managed to reach their maiden final of the tournament.
FollowIt was a never give up performance from New Zealand, as it sneaked past former champion England in the semis of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Daryl Mitchell's unbeaten 72 played a pivotal role in the success, while the Kiwis have reached the first-ever final of the tournament.
Winning the toss, Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson opted to bowl, as he moved in with the same playing XI, while English captain Eoin Morgan made a forced change, with Sam Billings coming in for an injured Jason Roy. England lost Jonny Bairstow (13) in the sixth over of the Powerplay to pacer Adam Milne with 37 runs on the board.
FULL SCORECARD: ICC T20 World Cup - England vs New Zealand (Semi-Final)
Sixteen runs later, fellow opener Jos Buttler (29) departed after being trapped leg-before by spinner Ish Sodhi in the ninth. However, Dawid Malan (41) and Moeen Ali (51*) put in a 63-run stand for the third wicket, thus lifting England's spirit and putting it in a strong position. In the 16th over, pacer Tim Southee got rid of Malan at 116.
However, Moeen and Liam Livingstone (17) put up 40 runs more for the fourth wicket before the latter fell to pacer James Neesham in the final over. As Moeen scored his third T20I half-century and stayed unbeaten, England finished on a par total of 166/4. The Kiwis put seven bowlers into the attack, with four of them claiming a wicket each, while Southee was the most economical of all.
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In reply, NZ was off to a panicky start, losing opener Martin Guptill (4) and Williamson (5) within the third over, with just 13 runs on the board. However, fellow opener Daryl Mitchell (72*) and Devon Conway (46) contributed to a vital 82-run partnership for the third wicket, bringing the Kiwis back into the chase.
While spinner Livingstone got rid of Conway in the 14th, Glenn Phillips (2) fell to the same man a couple of overs later at 107. However, the English bowlers had done a great job at restricting the flow of the runs, piling pressure on the Kiwi batters as the chase progressed. While NZ stayed in the chase, Mitchell and Neesham (27) put in 40 more for the fifth wicket.
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Although spinner Adil Rashid got rid of Neesham in the 18th over, the equation was pretty much getable by then, as Mitchell ensured to see NZ through with six balls to spare. The English utilised five bowlers, with pacer Chris Woakes and Livingstone claiming a couple of wickets each, while the latter turned out to be reasonably economical.
Brief scores: England 166/4 (Moeen- 51*; Neesham- 1/18) lost to New Zealand 167/5 in 19 overs (Mitchell- 72*, Conway- 46; Livingstone- 2/22) by five wickets.
