Lord’s stadium in England wore a hue of sky blue and black on Sunday as New Zealand set a target of 242 for England to chase in the finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
The match, which started 15 minutes late due to a wet outfield, saw New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson choosing to bat after winning the toss. England, fresh from its victory over Australia mainly due to a low chasing target, tore into the Kiwi top order as they grabbed Martin Guptill’s wicket in the seventh over. As Williamson (30) and Nicholls (55) stood their ground and put some runs on the score board, Liam Plunkett removed both these batsmen, giving England a much needed thrust as things were looking at going the Kiwi way.
Ross Taylor and James Neesham also departed in quick succession courtesy English pacers before either of them could settle on the crease. Tom Latham remained the only player who took time on the crease to make 47 runs.
With 242 to chase to lay hands on the coveted trophy, Eoin Morgan’s men will look forward to build partnerships and be patient while batting. Spotlight will firmly be on openers Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow with support from Joe Root and skipper Eoin Morgan.
England put up a sparkly show with the ball with Liam Plunkett and Chris Woakes grabbing three wickets each giving away 42 and 37 runs respectively. Mark Wood and Jofra Archer scalped one wicket each.
However, New Zealand will look to repeat their match-winning performance from the semifinals where they had restricted India from chasing 240 with some brilliant bowling from Matt Henry, Trent Boult and Mitchell Santner.