There was no need for a super over this time. James Neesham and Daryl Mitchell ensured that it does not come to that. The big-hitting all-rounders dominated English bowlers at the death and made them miss their injured frontline bowler Tymal Mills. While Neesham fell in the 18th over, Mitchell held on to his nerves as the required run rate went up and then stepped on the accelerator to guide New Zealand to their first T20 World Cup final with a five-wicket win with six balls to spare.
Faulty start for Kiwis
Early wickets were the need of the hour for England and Chris Woakes delivered in the powerplay overs. New Zealand got off to a horrible start in the run chase of 167, losing the wickets of opener Martin Guptill and skipper Kane Williamson within three overs. New Zealand were reduced to 13/2 and managed to score just 36 runs in the powerplay overs. The early wickets prevented middle order batters from going after the bowlers straight away as they needed to do damage control first. Woakes was brilliant in his first spell as he conceded 16 runs, bowled one maiden and took two wickets.
Mitchell, Conway keep Kiwis in hunt
After the initial damage control, opener Daryl Mitchell and Devon Conway helped New Zealand recover from early wickets. The two shared an 82-run partnership for the third wicket. Conway missed out on his half-century as he got out for 46 off 38 deliveries including five fours and one six. But the wicketkeeper-batter got out at a crucial juncture of the game when Kiwis.
Livingstone magic
Liam Livingstone would have made Rajasthan Royals (RR) ‘What If?’ with his spell in the middle order. Livingstone provided the breakthrough for Eoin Morgan in the middle overs taking the wicket of Conway who was looking to accelerate. The off-spinner also got the wicket of Glenn Phillips to put the Kiwis under pressure. He finished his four overs conceding just 22 runs in the high-voltage affair.
Neesham shows up to the party
The Kiwi all-rounder must have been watching the World Cup 2019 final to motivate himself as he looked to finish the game himself. The left-handed batter targetted Chris Jordan in the 17th over and hit him for one six and two boundaries in the over. Jordan went for 23 runs in his third over after bowling an economical two overs. Neesham also hit leg-spinner Adil Rashid for a maximum in 18th over. He could not finish the job getting out to Rashid on the last delivery of the same over but did a serious damage with his 11-ball 27.
Mitchell — the ultimate hero
Mitchell truly justified why the team management chose to go with him as their opener ahead of Conway. He rotated the strike when the boundaries were not coming and took calculated risks once he was set. In the death overs, he fired on all cylinders to help Kiwis break the semi-final jinx to reach the final of T20 World Cup 2021. He deservedly finished the match with a boundary and did not take the risk of taking it to the final over. He remained unbeaten for 72 off 47 deliveries including four fours and four sixes.
Bairstow ploy fails
Jonny Bairstow was promoted up the order in the absence of an injured Jason Roy. The move seemed natural since Bairstow has opened before in T20Is and in Indian Premier League (IPL). However, Bairstow looked off-colour against the English bowlers as he managed to score just 13 runs from 17 deliveries in the powerplay overs. His stay at the crease came to an end as Kane Williamson took a brilliant catch diving to his left at the edge of the circle.
Malan steps up
Dawid Malan could not score a half-century but his 30-ball 41 helped England accelerate in the middle overs. Malan switched gears after the wicket of Jos Buttler as Moeen Ali was still new to the crease. While Ali played himself in, Malan kept boundaries flowing from the other end. The southpaw showed why he was the No.1 T20I batter for a long time. His 43-run knock included four overs and one six. Malan has also had a good record against the Kiwis with an average of over 70 in T20Is.
Ali in finisher mode
The left-handed batter played went from a run-a-ball 17 in the 14th over to 37-ball 51 in the end. After Malan’s wicket in the 15th over, Ali had help from Liam Livingstone but the veteran did the bulk of scoring by hitting leg-spinner Ish Sodhi and Adam Milne for sixes. He got to his maiden World Cup fifty with three balls to go in the over. The acceleration in the death overs helped England post a total of 166/4.
