And so it has begun. The semi-final stage of the World T20 2016 is underway and the first semis has ended. New Zealand went into the game as favourites, having won all their encounters in the tournament thus far. However, when it mattered the most, they failed as England made the final.
England have been in tremendous form as well. Their batting has been sublime and perhaps the best in the tournament. The bowling was the main concern, but some brilliant death bowling today was what made the difference.
As fans would be disappointed to see New Zealand, given the fearless way they played. England’s appearance in the final bodes well for their highly talented and young team. Their young stars have shown the maturity and courage required to make progress and this World Cup has borne witness to that.
One can certainly say that memories of the England – New Zealand match will not fade away, quite like the Axe Signature line of body perfumes.
Here are 5 memorable moments from the match:
Colin Munro’s switch-hit six
As expected, Kane Williamson gave the Kiwis a solid start with 32 runs in 28 balls. However, it wasn’t anything blazing. That part came from Colin Munro’s bat.
The Kiwi didn’t waste any time and came down all guns blazing and scored a brilliant 46 off just 32 balls. It was an innings that New Zealand an incredible start and the middle order batsmen a platform to put in a big total.
The best part about his innings? His switch-hit six. As Adil Rashid bowled in one of his spinners, Munro, in a premeditated attempt, smashed it over the cover boundary after switching his stance – eye candy for any cricket lover.
New Zealand’s collapse
The Blackcaps were coasting towards a big total at one point. With 95 runs on board and just a wicket gone in 10.3 overs, they looked set to mount a huge total in theremaining overs.
However, that’s when Kane Williamson fell and it all changed.
In an epic turn of events, England made one of the greatest comebacks as they restricted New Zealand to a lowly 153—just 62 runs in the last 57 balls, helping themselves to 7 wickets in the process.
New Zealand had been the most sensible side in the tournament up until today. Though, credit has to be given to England for some astute bowling.
Jason Roy got England off to a flier
A total of 154 against New Zealand is not as easy as it seems. Despite today’s mauling, it can’t be denied that New Zealand’s bowling line up is the best for T20Is —something they showed in this tournament.
The New Zealand fans placed a lot of hope on their two revelations: Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi. And they were the only ones who could do something about England’s fury—the wrath that was started by none other than Jason Roy.
Jason Roy played in such a way that the Kiwi bowlers didn’t know what hit them. Roy knew that they couldn't let the opposition bowlers settle down and hence he didn’t wait for bad balls—he made the balls bad.
In an innings that lasted 44 balls, he scored 78 runs while hitting 11 fours and 2 sixes to ensure England had a chance to become the first team to win two World T20 titles.
Sodhi’s ray of hope
As England were galloping towards the target, it would have taken only a miracle from New Zealand to qualify for the final.
And when Ish Sodhi took two wickets in two balls, a sense of hope was found around the stadium. The Blackcaps had a spring in their step and looked to make the comeback of the tournament.
But it wasn’t meant to be. England batted very sensibly right until the very end. Sodhi did instill a doubt in the English batsmen, but they didn’t panic despite the sudden loss of wickets and in the end, they were taken home by an exemplary…
Buttler finish
Virat Kohli showed us the other day how to finish a game. It was one of the finest innings played by a batsman while chasing, especially because of the way he paced it. Before the game could reach the penultimate final over, Kohli accelerated and won the game even before that.
And Jos Buttler was paying attention.
As two quick wickets fell, one would expect a careful approach by the new batsman, Jos Buttler. But he had something else in mind. He just came in and whacked the Kiwis out of the park. Facing just 17 balls, he smacked 32 runs and hit the last nail on New Zealand’s coffin—making England the first team to reach the final of the 2016 World T20.
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