England and New Zealand are locking horns in the first semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2021 in Abu Dhabi. Both teams won four and lost one match in the league phase and qualified for the semifinals after playing some high-quality cricket.
Kane Williamson won the toss and opted to bowl first. New Zealand remained unchanged for this game while England made a forced change in their playing XI as injured Jason Roy made way for Sam Billings.
Also Read: Kane Williamson takes stunning catch to dismiss Jonny Bairstow, watch here
England scored 166/4 in 20 overs to pose a stiff challenge in front of New Zealand.
Martin Guptill and Daryl Mitchell walked out to get the chase underway. Guptil began the proceedings with a boundary on the first ball. Chris Woakes, however, wasn’t intimidated by this and removed Guptill on the third ball of the innings. Kane Williamson walked out with responsibilities on his shoulders.
Williamson was kept quiet by England pacers. Woakes reaped the reward when Williamson went for a stylish scoop shot and ended up spooning the ball in the air. New Zealand were in tatters at 13/2 after three overs.
Daryl Mitchell and Devon Conway steadied the ship with a solid 82-run stand before the latter got out for 46. Glenn Phillips didn’t take long in getting out. James Neesham walked out in the middle and started turning the game on its head with some clean hitting. Neesham began Chris Jordan’s over with a huge six before hitting the third ball for a boundary.
Neesham slogged the fourth ball very high and it looked like sailing over for a six. However, Jonny Bairstow ran distance and caught the ball before throwing it to Liam Livingstone, who completed the rebound catch. England started celebrating but the replays showed that Bairstow had touched the boundary cushion before throwing the ball inside the playing area.
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Neesham scored 27 runs in 11 balls while Mitchell scored unbeaten 72 runs in 47 balls to propel New Zealand into their maiden T20 World Cup final with a comprehensive victory over England.
Also Read: Chris Woakes jolts New Zealand with two early wickets, watch here
Earlier, Jonny Bairstow walked out to open the innings with Jos Buttler in Jason Roy’s absence. New Zealand came up with a good plan for Bairstow as Trent Boult and Tim Southee kept bowling the tight line and lengths against him. Buttler and Bairstow scored 37 runs for the opening wicket before the latter got out. Buttler also followed him after scoring 29 runs.
Moeen Ali and Dawid Malan added 63 runs for the third wicket before Southee separated this dangerous duo. Liam Livingstone played some aggressive strokes but fell in the last over. Moeen Ali scored an unbeaten fifty to propel England’s total to 166/4 in 20 overs.
