[Watch] When Ben Stokes led England to maiden ODI World Cup title in 2019 with Super Over win vs New Zealand
On this day in 2019, the cricketing world witnessed arguably the greatest ODI ever played when England, led by Eoin Morgan, pulled off a thrilling win against New Zealand at Lord's. In a classic match filled with innumerable ebbs and flows, the final overs of the clash were some of the most dramatic scenes one could ever envision.
After contrasting semi-final victories against Australia and India, the two teams looked to capture their first-ever ODI World Cup title. The Kiwis won the toss and batted first in the high-pressure game, scoring a competitive 241/8 in their 50 overs.
Chasing 242 to become world champions, the hosts succumbed to the pressure and were reeling at 86/4 in the 24th over. With the World Cup slipping away, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler came to the rescue with a sensational 110-run partnership to resurrect the innings to bring England within touching distance of victory.
However, New Zealand struck back, dismissing Buttler for 59 and picking up wickets at regular intervals to have England precariously placed at 227/8 in 49 overs. With 15 runs needed off the final over, Stokes struck a magnificent six off the third ball. The all-rounder was granted a further six runs off the next delivery when the throw from the deep inadvertently hit Stokes' bat and went for a boundary as he was diving into the crease for a second run.
Despite the equation being reduced to three runs needed off two deliveries after that controversial moment, Trent Boult held his nerves and conceded only two runs with as many runouts to have the game end in a tie. Before the crowd and the players from both teams could breathe a sigh of relief, the super-over to determine the World Champions was underway.
England scored 15 runs in their one over, thanks to Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler smashing a boundary each. In reply, the Kiwis brought the equation down to two runs needed off the final delivery when Jofra Archer produced a near-perfect yorker that Martin Guptill could only squeeze down to deep square leg. As the batter desperately tried to scamper back for the second run, he was caught well short of his crease, resulting in the super over ending in a dead heat.
However, thanks to England being ahead on the boundary count (26-17), they were deemed world champions, leading to wild scenes at the Mecca of Cricket.
Here is a highlights video of the most thrilling World Cup final ever played:
Ben Stokes was adjudged the Player of the Match for his resolute unbeaten 84 off 94 deliveries and the crucial boundary in the super over.
Meanwhile, a distraught Kane Williamson was awarded the Player of the Tournament for his brilliant batting and captaincy despite New Zealand falling heart-breakingly short of being World Champions.
Despite being four years old, the game is still talked about frequently as the undoubted best and most dramatic finish to a game of cricket.
Team India's performance at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019
Led by Virat Kohli, Team India entered the 2019 ODI World Cup as the overwhelming favorite, with the hosts England. The Men in Blue did not disappoint, winning seven of their nine group-stage fixtures, including dominating wins over arch-rivals Pakistan and Australia.
Kohli's Men suffered a lone defeat against England and had their game against the Black Caps washed out due to inclement weather. India finished at the top of the points table in the ten-team race.
Rohit Sharma made the 2019 World Cup his own with the bat 🔥🎯
#Cricket #RohitSharma #India https://t.co/7WADJEP4J0
Unfortunately for the Asian Giants, despite entering the semi-final against New Zealand as heavy favorites, they suffered a shocking defeat by 18 runs to be eliminated from the tournament.
Chasing a mere 240, Team India wilted the pressure of a knockout game to be reduced to 24/4 in ten overs. Despite a late recovery courtesy of a 116-run partnership between Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni, they fell bowled out for 221 with three balls to spare.
Despite their disappointing semi-final exit, the team provided several moments of joy throughout their campaign. Current skipper Rohit Sharma finished as the leading run-getter with 648 runs, including a record five centuries in nine games.
Virat Kohli led the team ably and scored 443 runs at an impressive average of 55.37 in the tournament. Pace Spearhead Jasprit Bumrah also had a memorable World Cup, picking up 18 wickets in nine games at a sensational economy rate of under 4.50 runs per over.