Day 59: World Cup Final: England vs. New Zealand

Today is the final match of World Cup 2019. This may be the first match we are going to watch where India is not playing.

A World Cup final is the most important match of the tournament. Moreover, watching the match at Lords is a great sight and we were given very good seats as the passes for the match were extended by ICC – International Cricket Club, the organiser of the tournament.

The match started 15 minutes late. New Zealand batted first. They made 241/8 runs in 50 overs. Nicolls scored 55 runs and Latham gave final thrust with 47 runs. It looked that the score is below par, short by about 20-30 runs.

England did not start well and were 86/4 after 23.1 overs. It looked that the prospects for England were bleak since the asking rate was increasing. However, Stokes and Buttler contributed handsomely. Buttler made 59 runs in 60 balls. Stokes was still there at the crease, but he did not get support from tail enders. He scored 84 runs from 98 balls and remained not out. They scored 241 all out in 50 overs. On the last balls, they were to score 2 runs, they got one run and then while taking second run Wood was run out. So, this was a tie. Tie in the final match is not common.

Super over was played. England batted first and scored 15 runs in one over. New Zealand got 6 runs in the last but one ball. The throw from the fielder bounced from the batsman’s bat and raced to the boundary. There were two runs plus a boundary from overthrow. So, New Zealand got 6 runs from that ball. They ran for second run on the last ball of the Super over, but then there was a run out. Ultimately, they also got 15 runs in their super over. So, it was another tie. Tie at the end of 50 overs and then a tie at the end of Super Over. This is unprecedented.

The rule says that if there is a tie at the end of Super over, then the side hitting more boundaries will be the winner. England were declared winners.

We have watched a match which is going to go down in the history of World Cup and also in the history of the game as a special and unique match.

There were celebrations all around as the home team has won the World Cup. New Zealand did not lose the match, but still were declared loser due to some stupid rule. It would have been better if they were declared as Joint winners. 

We returned to the hotel with a very good feeling. We have watched an important match at the Mecca of the Cricket.