With a place in the final at stake, both New Zealand and England arrived at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi eager to make a mark. While the Kiwis were unbeaten so far, Eoin Morgan’s side rebounded brilliantly after being taken apart by Chris Gayle in the opening encounter.
A win would have meant a maiden appearance in the final of the ICC World T20 for New Zealand. After contesting the summit clash against Australia in the 50-overs World Cup, the Blackcaps were reasonably confident of their chances.
Apart from their title-winning run in 2010, England have been unable to reach the knockout stages of the T20 extravaganza. A strong showing in the semi-finals would have been befitting of their recent resurgence in limited-overs cricket.
With all of these thoughts in mind, Morgan won the toss and decided to bowl. Despite a strong start by the New Zealand top-order, the England bowlers came back to restrict them to 153. After Jason Roy had bludgeoned New Zealand’s psyche into submission, England stormed their way into Kolkata for the final.
Let us take a look at the five most memorable moments from the pulsating contest in chronological order.
#1 – Munro and Williamson get together
Martin Guptill had missed New Zealand’s previous match due to a precautionary measure surrounding his hamstring. Nevertheless, the dynamic opener remained the vital cog in their top-order.
But, the explosive opener succumbed to a delivery which went on with the arm from left-armer David Willey. Skipper Kane Williamson though remained unflustered as he formed a useful partnership with the hard-hitting Colin Munro.
The duo interspersed the boundaries with some smart running between the wickets to keep the England bowlers at bay. Liam Plunkett’s extra pace was taken advantage of by Munro as the Power Play yielded 51 runs.
Even seemingly good deliveries were somehow sent to the boundary as they continued to stick to their attacking instincts. Desperately needing a wicket, Morgan turned towards Moeen Ali who induced a mistake from Williamson. And, Plunkett too had his revenge by prising out the dangerous Munro, not before the latter had set a solid platform.
#2 – Chris Jordan impresses with his control
Chris Jordan is something of an enigma in the cricket world. His performances encompass both ends of the spectrum with moments of brilliance juxtaposed by mediocrity. However, the 27-year old’s ability to consistently find the blockhole adds immense value to the England outfit.
He has managed to stand out from his team-mates with spells of 0/24, 1/27 and 4/28 in the tournament. Apart from a batting night in Mumbai where every bowler was hammered without mercy, Jordan’s World T20 adventure has been quite a good one.
On this important occasion, he once gain delivered the goods by unwaveringly adhering to his strengths. Coming on to bowl when the field was up, Jordan kept things quiet on his end against the rampaging Munro.
Returning at the business stage of the innings, the fast bowler was again, bang on target as Ross Taylor unsuccessfully tried to heave one to the fence. Knowing the experienced batsman’s capability in the end overs, Morgan would have been delighted with Taylor’s dismissal.
#3 – Only 32 runs from the final five
When the last five overs began, New Zealand held all the aces and were primed for one final assault. But, what unfolded was exactly the opposite of their expectations as late wickets hurt them badly.
A guy who regularly thrives under crunch moments, Ben Stokes was given the ball by his skipper in a bid to prevent a possible onslaught. At that stage, it appeared to be a massive gamble since Stokes had conceded 20 runs from his first couple of overs.
However, the move paid off as the all-rounder struck twice in quick succession to snaffle Luke Ronchi and Corey Anderson. In the final over of the innings, Stokes pouched Mitchell Santner and also effected a run-out.
The underlying irony about it all is the fact that Stokes was born in Christchurch, New Zealand.
#4 – A ‘Roy’al start from England
When the Kiwi bowlers were in their half-time huddle, they would have been discussing ways to get early wickets and keep the English batting lineup on its toes. However, Jason Roy threw all their plans into the bin and did what he does best- smack the ball without any inhibition.
Corey Anderson bowled the opening over and was duly taken for a ride to all parts of the stadium. As many as four boundaries came off that ill-fated over which caught Williamson off guard.
Roy’s opening partner Alex Hales cleverly turned the strike over which showed his experience. Left without any option but to bring his spinners into play, Williamson introduced Santner into the equation.
The highest wicket-taker in the Super 10 stages was not shown any respect either. By the time Ish Sodhi finally breached his defence, Roy had placed England at the precipice of victory with a brilliant 44-ball 78.
#5 – England book a place at Eden
When Sodhi trapped Morgan in front, there would have been a few flutters in the England camp. But, Joe Root took charge of the situation by recollecting his thoughts and stitched a partnership with Jos Buttler.
Judging the situation neatly, Root kept the scoreboard ticking by rotating the strike with precision. At the other end, Buttler was preparing himself for the finishing blow. The dynamic batsman flexed his muscles against Sodhi with some clean hitting.
Buttler deposited Santner into the deep mid-wicket stands as England completed a clinical victory to enter into the final. On the other hand, the fancied Blackcaps ran out steam at the wrong moment which brought their campaign to a screeching halt.
