New Zealand stormed into the ICC Men’s T-20 World Cup final after beating England by five wickets at Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Put in to bat first, England posted a total of 166 for four with the help of Moeen Ali’s not-out 51 and Dawid Malan’s 41 runs.
In reply, New Zealand overhauled the target in 19 overs riding on Daryl Mitchell’s unbeaten 72 runs and Devon Conway’s 46.
New Zealand will now face the winner of the second semi-final in the summit clash on Sunday in Dubai.
The second semi-final will be played between Pakistan and Australia at 7:30 pm today in Dubai.
All India Radio is broadcasting ball-by-ball commentary of the World Cup matches.
Daryl Michell was the hero as New Zealand chased down 167 in Abu Dhabi to seal a spot in the World Cup final.
The Black Caps opener carried his bat in a stunning knock, producing a brilliant late display of power-hitting as New Zealand raced through the gears to avoid a nervy finish, winning with an over to spare.
Chris Woakes’ two early wickets in the Powerplay had restricted the Kiwi chase. But a steadying knock from Devon Conway and a quickfire 27 from James Neesham put New Zealand on top, with Chris Jordan’s 16th over going for 23 runs to swing the match in New Zealand’s favour.
And it was Mitchell who finished the job, hitting 25 off his last seven deliveries to win it with an over to spare.
Earlier, Ali and Dawid Malan helped England reach 166/4 in an occasionally scratchy first innings.
Scoring was slow and steady for much of England’s effort with the bat, with openers Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler steady but unspectacular through the Powerplay, before Malan and Ali’s partnership rebuilt the innings.