The World Cup final between New Zealand and England went into a Super Over after both teams ended with same score of 241, here Sunday.
New Zealand scored 241 for eight after opting to bat andhosts England were all out for exact score in the last ball of their innings.
New Zealand: 241/8 in 50 overs (Henry Nicholls 55, TomLatham 47; Chris Woakes 3/37, Liam Plunkett 3/42).
England: 241 all out in 50 overs. (B Stokes 84 not out, JButtler 59, J Neesham 3/43, L Ferguson 3/50).
Super Over: England: 15 (Stokes 8*); New Zealand: 15
It finally took a Super Over for England to be crownedwinners of the 2019 World Cup and it took them 44 years for this feat.
Neither a tied game, nor a spirited New Zealand could stopEngland from bringing the trophy home at the Lord’s on Sunday.
Eoin Morgan’s boys are the new world champions in the50-over format of the gentleman’s game and the crown couldn’t have come at abetter place than the historic Lord’s, the home of cricket.
Ben Stokes will go down in history as one of England’s bestall-rounders. After all, he managed what even the great Ian Botham failed toachieve in Australia in 1992.
England’s Mark Wood being run out off the last-ball of theinnings saw the game end in a tie and a Super Over followed. The first-everSuper Over in a World Cup final saw England score 15 runs before the Kiwis alsoended on 15, but the hosts won due to more boundaries scored in the game.
Cometh the hour, cometh the men. First it was Jos Buttlerwho rose to the occasion by hitting a swashbuckling 60-ball 59 and thenall-rounder Ben Stokes (84* off 98 balls) took off from where he left to helpEngland win their maiden World Cup title. Their 110-run partnership was thebackbone of a well-earned win for the Three Lions.
Chasing New Zealand’s score of 241/8, the hosts returnedhome victorious in front of the jam-packed crowd that would have sore throatswalking into office on Monday.
Sadly for New Zealand, it was another case of finishingrunners-up after their loss to Australia in the 2015 World Cup final. But thistime they competed well and it was a game that had the fans on their toes tillButtler and Stokes took the game away with their calculated power hitting.
Earlier, winning the toss and batting first in overcastconditions New Zealand scored 241/8 in their 50 overs. The conditions weren’tmost suited for batting, but the Kiwis did well, especially considering theoccasion.
Earlier, with incessant drizzle delaying the final by 15minutes, it was a brave decision by Williamson to bat first. And openers MartinGuptill and Nicholls looked to repose the faith shown in them by their skipperas they held fort and looked to play off the new ball. But the partnership wasbroken in the seventh over when Woakes trapped Martin Guptill (19) plumb infront. While the batsman did go a review, it proved to be a complete waste.Agencies