England vs New Zealand: T20 WC Semis Match Report – NZ enter finals

England vs New Zealand Toss: New Zealand won the toss and elect to bowl

New Zealand entered their first ever T20 World Cup final after chasing down 167 with 1 over to go. Earlier Kane Williamson won the toss and put England to bat as the South-paw combo of Dawid Malan and Moeen Ali steered the team to stability which helped them set up a formidable score of 166-4 in 20 overs.

Moeen Ali registered his maiden half century in T20 World Cup career.

Needing 167 runs to win, New Zealand faced a double blow as Chris Woakes removed Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson with the score on 13-2 in 2.4 overs. Devon Conway joined in Daryl Mitchell to steady the situation and put on a 82 run partnership in 11 overs.  Liam Livingstone struck twice getting rid of Devin Conway and Glenn Phillips to shift the momentum back in the favour of England.

Jimmy Neesham repeated his World Cup heroics against England to score a valuable 11 ball 27 which included 3 sixes – to help New Zealand sit in the driver’s seat. Daryl Mitchell unleashed his brute force in the end overs to wrap up the match with 1 over to go. Mitchell remained unbeaten on 72 in 47 balls with the help of 4 fours and 4 sixes!

England vs New Zealand Playing XIs

England:

Jos Buttler (wk), Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali, Eoin Morgan (captain), Sam Billings, Liam Livingstone, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

New Zealand:

Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (c), Devon Conway (wk), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult

High Points:

• This is the first time New Zealand entered a T20 World Cup final
• Daryl Mitchell became the first New Zealand cricketer to score a half-century in a T20 World Cup semi-finals.

England vs New Zealand – Match Summary:

England 166-4 in 20 overs

Jos Buttler 29 (24) – 4 fours

Jonny Bairstow 13 (17) – 2 fours

Dawid Malan 41 (30) – 4 fours & 1 six

Moeen Ali 51*(37) – 3 fours & 2 sixes

Liam Livingstone 17 (10) – 1 four & 1 six

New Zealand 167-5 in 19 overs

Martin Guptill 4 (3) – 1 four

Daryl Mitchell 72*(47) – 4 fours & 4 sixes

Kane Williamson 5 (11)

Devon Conway 46 (38) – 5 fours & 1 six

James Neesham 27 (11) – 1 four & 3 sixes

Chris Woakes 4-1-36-2

Liam Livingstone 4-0-22-2

Result: New Zealand won by 5 wickets

Player of the Match: Daryl Mitchell

Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi