World Cup 2019: Most Runs, Most Wickets after New Zealand Vs West Indies match
The 2019 Cricket World Cup suddenly can't stop producing thrilling matches as New Zealand ended up on the winning side by a mere 5 runs against West Indies at Old Trafford, Manchester. Carlos Brathwaite's sensational hundred went in vain with Jimmy Neesham and Trent Boult combining to almost seal a semi-final spot for New Zealand with this win.
It was the West Indies who had won the toss and they put New Zealand to bat first on a wicket that was expected to stay true over the course of 100 overs. West Indies' decision to bowl first was vindicated immediately as Sheldon Cottrell produced two rippers to send back New Zealand's openers Martin Guptill and Colin Munro. New Zealand quickly started to rebuild with their two best players in the form of skipper Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor.
As usual, West Indies started to be one-dimensional with the ball and failed to find any penetration. Williamson and Taylor coasted along to record a 160-run partnership until the latter lost his wicket off Chris Gayle's bowling. This didn't deter Williamson as the classy batsman went on to score his 13th hundred.
He didn't stop even after that since New Zealand needed their premier batsman to carry on till the very end. Even though no other New Zealand batsmen could get a sizeable score, the likes of James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme and Mitchell Santner played useful cameos as New Zealand ended up with a total of 291-8. Williamson was the star of the show with his majestic 148 while Cottrell did well for the West Indies by picking up 4 wickets.
A chase of 292 was never going to be easy and the West Indies needed a good start. Unfortunately, Evin Lewis couldn't open the inning due to the hamstring injury that he suffered while fielding early in the day. The situation became worse as the West Indies were rocked early with both Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran returning back to the dressing room after scoring just 1 run.
If it was Williamson and Taylor for New Zealand, it was the dangerous duo of Chris Gayle and Shimron Hetmyer who had to resurrect the inning for West Indies. Gayle and Hetmyer were never going to rebuild like the New Zealand duo and it was evident as the southpaws counter-attacked to put West Indies in a comfortable position at 142-2 after 22 overs. However, West Indies were jolted again as Lockie Ferguson dismissed Hetmyer and Jason Holder in consecutive deliveries. The team fell even deeper when Gayle lost his wicket in the very next over.
Suddenly, Carlos Brathwaite and Ashley Nurse were in the middle and West Indies' batting line-up gave a wafer-thin look. But, Brathwaite made everyone remember him again after a long time with an innings of a lifetime. Even though he played well to get a fifty, New Zealand were never worried until the 48th over. It was in that over that Brathwaite smashed 25 runs off Matt Henry's bowling.
The West Indies dared to believe again. With Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson having finished their quota of overs, Brathwaite and West Indies were in the drivers' seat. Under intense pressure, Williamson handed over the ball to James Neesham. Brathwaite swung hard but Neesham refused to bowl anything in his slot. Off the next delivery though, Brathwaite finally succeeded in getting bat on ball and in that process he registered a whirlwind century.
A dot followed and one would have thought that Brathwaite will take a single off the last ball. However, he tried to finish off the match with a six but to everyone's surprise, Boult kept his calm and took a brilliant catch at the long-on boundary to seal a thriller.
Most Runs
Kane Williamson's fantastic 148 off 154 balls rocketed him into the Top 10 list for most runs in the 2019 World Cup. He holds the 5th spot at the moment.
Most Wickets
New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson and Trent Boult had a great day with the ball and that is reflected in the Most Wickets list. Ferguson has had a stellar tournament with 14 wickets to his name in 5 matches. Meanwhile, Trent Boult finally joined the wicket-taking party with a superb 4-wicket haul against West Indies.
Also read – Cricket World cup winners
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