ICC T20 World Cup 2016: New Zealand vs England - 5 Talking Points
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.