At the ‘Mecca of Cricket’, with the clouds looming over the head of thousands of spectators threatening to spoil the ultimate match at hand, England and New Zealand put forth even an intense competition, an unnerving contest to end the wait and bring the cup to the ‘home of cricket’ itself. A contest for the worthier, and both never missed out on proving their worth, but in the end, after the match and the super over both being tied, England wins by the higher number of boundaries throughout the match.
New Zealand had the upper hand with coming to bat first after winning the toss, but soon Henry Nicholls (55 out; 77b; 4X4) gets trapped by Chris Woakes for a LBW, but New Zealand’s review gives him another life. In the 7th over of Woakes, now Martin Gaptill (19 out; 18b; 2X4, 1X6) falls prey to another similar attack and loses not just his wicket, but the remaining review of the match. Though Nicholls and captain Kane Williamson (30 out; 53b; 2X4) had a slow but promising partnership going, but Liam Plunkett gave the best he could afford, plucking Nicholls just after he plucks Williamson. With both reviews lost, Kiwi’s had to go with Umpire’s call only, and when Ross Taylor (15 out; 31b) got out on an LBW, he had walk straight off unable to challenge the decision. Tom Latham (47 out; 56b; 2X4, 1X6), with little contributions from James Neesham (19 out; 25b; 3X4) and Colin de Grandhomme 16 out; 28b), takes New Zealand past the 200 mark. New Zealand batsmen managed to score 241 in their 50 overs for England to chase for the long awaited glory.
New Zealand bowling has proved to be lethal to batsmen in the previous games, especially against India in the semi-finals of ICC World Cup 2019. Likewise, the duo of Matt Henry and Trent Boult opening the bowling attack paved a clear chance for New Zealand to head for the glory with ease. The top order of England batting line-up collapsed under the pressure, scoring just above 80 in 24 overs with the loss of 4 wickets. However, Ben Stokes (84 out; 98b; 5X4, 2X6), a man of the Kiwi origin and a star for England campaign, once more came at front, taking England on a winning ride. Stokes along with Jos Buttler (59 out; 60b; 6X4) were battling hard to get the required run-rate under control, but after Buttler’s dismissal, England’s world cup chances looked pretty bleak. With 15 runs to get from 1 over, Ben Stokes had the entire responsibility on his shoulders to take the hosts on a maiden victory. Trying to get as many runs as possible, under pressure Stokes hits the 3rd ball by Trent Boult for 6. A drama erupted in the 4th ball, when Stokes tries to steal a 2nd run with a dive at the striker’s end, but a deadly throw by Guptill to dismiss Stokes reaches his bat instead, and deflects for a boundary awarding them an extra 6 runs. England manages to level the scores in the 50 overs, invoking a super over for the final show.
The super over by England resulted in, Stokes and Buttler scoring 15 off Trent Boult’s over, with 2 boundaries. James Neesham and Martin Guptill scores 15 only, same as the hosts, off Jofra Archer with another tie. But the tie resulted in the victory for England tallying the number of boundaries scored by the Englishmen toppling slightly over the Kiwi’s, as England emerged as a new champion to the World. From almost having the match in their hands to losing a gut-wrenching contest at end, New Zealand managed to win as many hearts and respect, almost equal to the glory of the final trophy.
