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.
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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, on the other hand, was looking comfortable in the middle, unlike Bairstow.
Adam Milne came to bowl the final over of the powerplay and he removed Bairstow straightaway. The England opener went for a cover drive, where Williamson was stationed and grabbed an outstanding catch to cut short Bairstow’s innings. He got out after scoring 13 runs in 17 balls, which featured two fours.
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Before being separated, Bairstow and Buttler had shared 37 runs for the opening wicket in the first five overs to give a solid start to England against New Zealand in the first semifinal. Dawid Malan came to bat at number three after the departure of Bairstow.
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England (Playing XI): Jos Buttler(w), Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali, Eoin Morgan(c), Sam Billings, Liam Livingstone, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
New Zealand (Playing XI): Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson(c), Devon Conway(w), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult.
