New Zealand secure victory over England to progress into the final of the T20 World Cup

England have been knocked out of the T20 World Cup by New Zealand after Daryl Mitchell secured a five-wicket victory for the Black Caps.

Mitchell smashed a magnificent 72* off 47 balls as he guided his team through difficult innings and into the finals.

England lost the toss and were sent out to bat first. With no Jason Roy in the squad due to a calf injury sustained in the last game, Jos Buttler was joined in the middle by Jonny Bairstow to open the batting.

They got off to a steady start in the powerplay scoring 37 runs in the first five overs bowled by Tim Southee and Trent Boult. However, the introduction of Adam Milne in the sixth over brought the breakthrough New Zealand were looking for.

Bairstow drove the ball hard through the offside but was sent back to the dugout after a brilliant diving catch from Kane Williamson. Buttler followed his teammate back two overs later after he was trapped for LBW by Ish Sodhi.

Dawid Malan and Moeen Ali were then tasked with rebuilding the innings and setting a good foundation for a strong finish, and they did a good job. Their partnership stood until the 15th over, scoring 63 runs in 43 balls with Malan reaching 41 runs before edging a delivery by Southee into the hands of Devon Conway.

Ali and Liam Livingstone, with some added runs from Eoin Morgan near at the end, helped the Three Lions reach a score of 166 on a slow pitch. The former reached 51 runs and not out off 37 balls with a strike rate of 137.84.

The Kiwis got off to a terrible start after some world-class bowling from Chris Woakes in the powerplay. The 32-year-old was able to get the ball swinging and he picked up his first wicket after Martin Guptill’s leading edge was spooned to Ali at mid-on.

Woakes’ second over piled the pressure on New Zealand as he got the important wicket of Williamson. The skipper tried to scoop the ball over the wicketkeeper but he mistimed it and the ball landed into the safe hands of Adil Rashid. This finished as a wicket-maiden over for Woakes and the Kiwi’s were 36/2 after the powerplay.

Mitchell and Conway now had the same task as Malan and Ali in the previous innings as they looked to keep the game alive for as long as possible. Conway was batting well as he scored a total of 47 but was stumped out after he missed a delivery by Livingstone.

After a partnership of 82 between the two batsmen, the game was in the balance. Glenn Phillips was only in for four balls before giving Livingstone his second wicket but Jimmy Neesham had different plans.

The game-deciding moment came in the 17th over. In the 2019 ODI World Cup final, between the same sides, Ben Stokes hit a ball deep into the field which was caught by Boult. The New Zealander however stepped onto the boundary rope and a six was given. The same had happened in this game but this time in the Black Caps’ favour.

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Neesham smashed a ball towards Bairstow who was on the boundary rope. The Englishman plucked the ball out of the air but as he threw it to his teammate, his knee crashed into the cushions.

That very over went for 23 runs and swung the momentum in New Zealand’s direction. Neesham’s cameo lasted only 11 balls but he fired an impressive 27 runs at a strike rate of 245.45.

20 runs were needed off the last two overs and Mitchell was inspired by Neesham’s innings as he hit Woakes for the required amount in the penultimate over.

England will look back at moments in the match where things did not go their way but New Zealand showed their class throughout.

The Black Caps will face either Australia or Pakistan in the finals in Dubai.

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