England Win World Cup 2019: After 23 years, Cricket World Cup has a new champion. In what was probably the best World Cup final ever, the match went into Super Over, where also the game was tied, however, England won on account of more boundaries scored in the match.
Christchurch born Ben Stokes was the star with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 84. England beat rivals New Zealand to their maiden World Cup title as the hosts beat New Zealand by 2 wickets. Villain turned hero as he had his moment of redemption after what happened at the World T20, where England lost in the final at Eden Gardens. Stokes was hit for four 6’s by Carlos Brathwaite.
New Zealand put up a great fight, but it wasn’t enough as Ben Stokes, aided by Buttler got England home, starring with the bat, scoring crucial half-centuries to guide England to what is their first ever World Cup title.
Earlier, New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first. The Kiwis did not get off to a perfect start, losing opener Martin Guptill early on. Henry Nicholls then set-up a good partnership with Kane Williamson, however with the captain’s departure, New Zealand kept losing wickets at one end. A late onslaught by Tom Latham helped the Kiwis reach a total of 241. Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett starred with the ball, claiming three wickets each. The total seemed about 20 runs short of the par score but gave New Zealand a chance.
With the ball in hand, Matt Henry set the tone, sending dangerous Jason Roy back in the hut. Colin de Grandhomme then built pressure from his end and forced Joe Root into a false shot, who was caught by Tom Latham behind the stumps. England then lost their way of losing both Jonny Bairstow and Eoin Morgan in quick succession, reeling at 86/4.
Jos Buttler then came in to bat, to join Ben Stokes and the two stitched a wonderful partnership of 110, which put England in a strong position. Stokes stayed till the end and though England were all out of the last ball, they managed to tie the game. England had their share of luck. Trent Boult caught Stokes on the boundary, however, he stepped onto the rope before relaying it to Martin Guptill. Stokes then dived to get in but the throw hit him and went to the boundary, earning England a lottery. The game then went into Super Over.
Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler came out to bat in the Super Over where the duo was against Trent Boult. The English batsmen managed to post 15 on the board. With 16 to win, New Zealand sent in James Neesham and Martin Guptill. Neesham did strike a win to ignite hopes of the Kiwis, however, they managed to get only 15 and lost on account of lesser boundaries scored during the course of the game.
It was worthy of a final with the game having its own segments of a roller coaster ride. The two teams put in valiant efforts and in what was a fiercely competitive game, it was tough to predict the winner till the very end.
England reached their first final since 1992, where they lost to Pakistan, and did not put their foot wrong this time around, making amends to the 27-year-old event and lifting their first World Cup.
New Zealand, on the other hand, made it to their second successive final and lost it yet again, after losing to Australia last time around in 2015.
England went into the World Cup as one of the frontrunners, having assembled a well-balanced squad and with home advantage on the cards, England did justice to the pre-tournament tag of favorites.
