In a technical glitch, New Zealand’s national anthem was played on fast forward ahead of their T20 World Cup game against England.
As ‘God defend New Zealand’ was played on the stadium speakers and the camera panned towards the BlackCap players, most of them could be seen laughing. The support staff also seemingly couldn’t contain their laughter, seeing the funny side of the technical glitch ahead of the crucial game in Colombo.
The Mitchell Santner-led side entered the England game needing an outright win to book their spot in the semifinals. They batted first after winning the toss, and were once again provided a solid start by openers Finn Allen and Tim Seifert, who added 64 runs in seven overs, before falling within five deliveries of each other.
Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra took over, scoring 31 runs from overs nine to 11 before Rehan Ahmed dismissed the latter with his first ball of the tournament. Mark Chapman came out firing, hitting two boundaries off his first five deliveries, but England spinners wrested control back.
From 116-3 after 13 overs, the Kiwis were reduced to 135-6 in 17.1 overs, with no boundaries being hit during this period. Adil Rashid had Chapman stumped, while Liam Dawson removed Daryl Mitchell, and Will Jacks rattled Phillips’s stumps to get a stronghold on the game.
New Zealand eventually finished on 159-7, with captain Mitchell Santner hitting a last-ball six. Will Jacks took his World Cup tally to seven wickets with figures of 2-23 in the game, while Rehan and Rashid finished with identical figures of 2-28, albeit in three and four overs, respectively.
Super 8 - Match 9, England vs New Zealand
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In reply, the England openers fell cheaply. Phil Salt managed just two runs while Jos Buttler continued his disappointing run, getting dismissed for a duck, his fifth consecutive single-digit score of the tournament. Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell provided some stability, adding 48 runs for the second wicket, with the England captain playing arguably the shot of the tournament: a scoop over square leg with a flick of the wrist off Matt Henry for a six.
Also Read: T20 World Cup semi-final net run rate scenarios: How Pakistan can qualify for last four
Image courtesy: @Cilliersv/X
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