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England held their nerves to beat New Zealand in a crucial Super 12 match of T20 World Cup 2022 to stay alive in the semi-final race. England successfully defended 179 against.
Kane Williamson’s men to leapfrog Australia and move into the 2nd spot in Group 2 points table as the battle for the last four spots heats up Down Under.
England needed nothing less than a win to keep their semi-final hopes alive and they came out on top with captain Jos Buttler leading from the front with the bat. Buttler, who had a lean patch, played a well-paced knock, hitting 73 from just 47 balls to steer the team to a competitive total at the Gabba, Brisbane.
Despite their first defeat in the tournament, New Zealand are on top of the Group 2 table with 5 points. England is 2nd, tied on points with Australia but Buttler’s men have a better Net Run Rate than the defending champions. Sri Lanka is at the 4th spot with 4 points and all four of them are in contention for 2 semi-final spots from the group.
Australia will face Afghanistan in their final match in Adelaide on November 4 while New Zealand take on Ireland at the same venue on the same day. England will have an added advantage as they will play last in the group, against Sri Lanka on November 5 in Sydney.
PHILLIPS EFFORT IN VAIN
New Zealand lost Devon Conway (3) and Finn Allen (16), their batting mainstays, early after England posted 179 on the board.
Chris Woakes got the big wicket of Conway as early as the 2nd over and Allen hit a six before getting out to Sam Curran in the 5th over.
New Zealand had to rebuild after the shaky start and captain Kane Williamson led from the front, knocking it around for singles and doubles. At the other end, in-form Glenn Phillips, who had already smashed a hundred, went big hitting 3 sixes and 4 boundaries.
Even as Williamson was playing risk-free cricket, Phillips took on the England bowlers, hitting them to all parts of the ground. Phillips was handed a reprieve by Moeen Ali who dropped a simple catch following which the New Zealand batter launched into Adil Rashid in the 14th over in which England picked up 17 runs.
Phillips brought down the equation to 67 off 30 balls but New Zealand lost Kane Williamson to a run-a-ball 40 in Ben Stokes’s first over.
The Williamson wicket proved to be the turning point as England pacers dried up the runs. Mark Wood bowled a terrific 16th over, conceding just 3 runs and picking up the crucial wicket of James Neesham (6).
Chris Woakes then kept up the good work, getting the wicket of Daryl Mitchell in a 5-run 17th over.
The pressure grew on Phillips and Sam Curran got the big wicket in the 18th over to close out the match for England.
Mitchell Santner swung his batting around and hit 16 (10) but it was not enough for New Zealand to get past the finish line.
BUTTLER, HALES FIRE
Earlier in the day, England benefitted from their openers Jos Buttler and Alex Hales finding form. The two stitched an 81-run partnership for the first wicket as Tim Southee and Trent Boult failed to fire with the new-ball.
Buttler hit 73 from 47 balls, smashing 2 sixes and 7 boundaries while Hales hit 52 from 40 balls. Despite England’s big guns in the middle-order failing to get going, the former champions were able to push their total to 179.