New Zealand put up a brave fight to enter the T20 World Cup finals after beating England by 5 wickets in a nail-bitter in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
New Zealand won the toss and decided to bowl first. With a loss of 4 wickets, England set a competitive 167 run target for Kane Williamson’s team. With 51 off 37, Moeen Ali was the highest scorer for his side. Following him was Dawid Malan who put up a 30 ball 41 against the Kiwis. Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi and Jimmy Neesham all took a wicket each.
In reply, England dominated the start but the later half was owned by the Kiwi cricketers. A loss of 2 wickets to Chris Woakes in the initial over hurt New Zealand bad, but the team soon recovered as Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell steadied the chase. While Conway got 46 off 38, Mitchell stayed till the end and scored a fiery 72* off 47. Towards the end Jimmy Neesham also contributed with a quickfire 27 off 11. Neesham and Mitchell took New Zealand past the finish line in the most dramatic fashion as the Kiwis booked their berth in the 2021 World T20 final.