Roy sizzles as England march into World T20 final

By our correspondents
March 31, 2016

NEW DELHI: New Zealand on Wednesday failed to shed the unwanted tag of world cricket’s perennial bridesmaids as they fell to rampaging England in the semi-final of the World Twenty20 championship here at Feroz Shah Kotla.

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Seen as the favourites to reach the final following their undefeated run in the group stages of the tournament, New Zealand were first undone by Ben Stokes and later blown away by Jason Roy.

England, who looked shaky at the start of the championship, took complete control of the game once the Black Caps failed to capitalize on a solid start to post a modest 153-8.

Ben Stokes sizzled for England as he bagged four wickets including two in two balls and a run out to make sure that his batters won’t be facing a big victory target.

Roy then played the lead role in a match-winning opening partnership of 82 off just 8.2 overs with Alex Hales to bat New Zealand out of the game.

He hailed England bowlers for keeping New Zealand at bay.

“The bowling unit did really well, as New Zealand are a hugely dangerous line-up,” Roy said after his 44-ball 78 set up a convincing seven-wicket triumph with 17 balls to spare.

Eoin Morgan, the England captain said that reaching the World T20 finale was a dream come true.

“At one stage we were looking at 180, but the belief in our camp is a very aggressive brand of cricket and we have confidence at the moment — led by Alex Hales and Jason Roy. We are in a good position at the moment. [A final] is the kind of thing you dream about. The players have made a lot of sacrifices and worked very hard for it,” he said.

Batting first, the previously unbeaten Black Caps raced to 89-1 after 10 overs, with Colin Munro blasting 46.

But England came back superbly to restrict them to 153-8, with Ben Stokes taking three wickets at the death as New Zealand scored just 20 off their last four overs.

Eoin Morgan’s side will play West Indies or India in the final in Kolkata on Sunday.

But merely having made it to that stage completes a remarkable turnaround from last year’s World Cup, where England were humiliatingly knocked out in the group stages, while New Zealand reached the final.

At the halfway stage in New Zealand’s innings, England had conceded 12 fours and two sixes and were looking at a chase in excess of 200.

But they fought back quite brilliantly, as first spin and then outstanding death bowling from the seamers slowed the New Zealand juggernaut to a virtual halt.

Moeen Ali had been smashed for 32 runs from his two overs against Sri Lanka, but here he wrested control, dismissing the fluent Kane Williamson with a brilliant return catch and conceding just 10 runs from his two overs.

Corey Anderson and Ross Taylor steered New Zealand to 133-3 after 16 overs, but from there Stokes and Chris Jordan destroyed their hopes of a good total.

Jordan, consistently hitting a perfect yorker length, had Taylor caught at extra cover, while Stokes accounted for Anderson, Luke Ronchi and Mitchell Santner, all caught on the boundary.

New Zealand managed just one boundary in the last four overs — the least expensive ever bowled by England in a T20 international.

New Zealand entered the match having won all four of their group matches, and 12 of their last 13 in global tournaments.

But — just as in the World Cup final, when they froze at the Melbourne Cricket Ground - they appeared to be undone by a change of location, as they failed to adapt from the low-scoring conditions in which they’d played their previous games to Delhi’s more batsman-friendly track.

The Black Caps had defended scores of 126, 142 and 145 earlier in the tournament, but England had already amassed 49-0 and broken the back of the chase by the time Kane Williamson turned to his leading wicket-taker Mitchell Santner after four overs.

New Zealand’s defeat means that they miss out on a first World Twenty20 final, and ensures that the record of no side ever having won the tournament undefeated will continue.

Score Board

England won toss

New Zealand

M J Guptill c Buttler b Willey 15

*K S Williamson c & b Ali 32

C Munro c Ali b Plunkett 46

C J Anderson c Jordan b Stokes 28

L R P L Taylor c Morgan b Jordan 6

†L Ronchi c Willey b Stokes 3

G D Elliott not out 4

M J Santner c Jordan b Stokes 7

M J McClenaghan run out 1

Extras (b 1, lb 4, w 6) 11

Total (8 wickets; 20 overs) 153

Did not bat: I S Sodhi, A F Milne

Fall: 1-17, 2-91, 3-107, 4-134, 5-139, 6-139, 7-150, 8-153

Bowling: Willey 2-0-17-1; Jordan 4-0-24-1 (2w); Plunkett 4-0-38-1 (1w); Rashid 4-0-33-0 (2w); Stokes 4-0-26-3 (1w); Ali 2-0-10-1

England

J J Roy b Sodhi 78

A D Hales c Munro b Santner 20

J E Root not out 27

*E J G Morgan lbw b Sodhi 0

†J C Buttler not out 32

Extras (lb 1, w 1) 2

Total (3 wickets; 17.1 overs) 159

Did not bat: B A Stokes, M M Ali, C J Jordan, D J Willey, A U Rashid, L E Plunkett

Fall: 1-82, 2-110, 3-110

Bowling: Anderson 1-0-16-0; Milne 3-0-27-0; McClenaghan 3-0-24-0; Santner 3.1-0-28-1 (1w); Sodhi 4-0-42-2; Elliott 3-0-21-0

Result: England won by 7 wickets

Series: England advanced to Final

Man of the Match: J J Roy (England)

Umpires: H D P K Dharmasena (Sri Lanka) and R J Tucker (Australia). TV umpire: B N J Oxenford (Australia). Match referee: D C Boon (Australia)

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