England scored a comprehensive 119-run victory in their must-win match against New Zealand at Chester-le-Street on Wednesday.
England had set a 306-run target for the Kiwis which they struggled to chase as they faced a steady fall of wickets.
As soon as the match was over, the commentators at ESPN Cricinfo began calculating what the semi final composition looks like, given today’s win.
“Pakistan will need to beat Bangladesh by 316 runs at Lord’s on Friday to oust New Zealand. That is, if they score 400, they need to keep Bangladesh to 84 or less. The exact margin will change depending on scores. It’s not over yet!” they said. Right at the outset the Kiwis got off to a shaky start, losing two wickets in the first 6 overs. Opener Henry Nicholls (0) was dismissed for a duck in the first over by Chris Woakes. Martin Guptill (8) was removed in the sixth over after Jos Buttler took a single-handed catch — that was “as good a catch as a keeper has made in this tournament”, according to The Guardian — on a delivery by Jofra Archer. The Kiwis were thus reduced to 16 for the loss of 2 wickets after six overs.
Then, skipper Kane Williamson (27) and Ross Taylor (28) put up a partnership that fell three runs shy of 50 runs. They were dismissed within an over of each other, both getting run out.
James Neesham and Tom Latham rescued the side somewhat by putting up a steady partnership of 50 runs, before the former was bowled out by Mark Wood. Colin de Grandhomme, Latham’s replacement, was sent back cheaply by Stokes’ ball, caught out by Joe Root at deep square. England, who were 194 for the loss of one wicket after 30 overs, could only score 111 in the last 20 overs and lost 7 wickets. Matt Henry, Trent Boult and James Neesham each picked two wickets in their 10-over spells. Mitchell Santner and Tim Southee bagged one wicket apiece, though the latter proved to be more expensive as he gave away 70 runs in his 9-over spell.
England managed to put up a decent total, thanks to opener Jonny Bairstow, who struck 15 boundaries and a six in his destructive innings of 106 runs. The England opener paired up with Jason Roy (60), forming a crucial opening 163-run stand that led the host team to fire up to 104 runs in 15 overs.
After Roy was dismissed by Neesham in the 19th over, Bairstow formed a 71-run partnership with Joe Root (24).
Root was removed by Boult in the 31st over. It was Henry who got New Zealand the breakthrough they were looking for when he put an end to Bairstow’s fiery knock in the 32nd over. Jos Buttler followed Bairstow soon after, when he mistimed a shot driving it through mid-off where he was caught by New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson in the 35th over.
Ben Stokes (11), who has been in good form recently, was caught by Henry when he mistimed a shot on Santner’s delivery. Chris Woakes (4) fell to Neesham in the 45th over when Williamson caught him at mid-off. Henry struck again at the beginning of the 47th over to claim England skipper Eoin Morgan’s (42). Adil Rashid (16) was bowled out on a yorker by Southee in the last over of the innings.
Speaking about his century after the innings, Bairstow said: “I’m really pleased obviously. There’s been a couple of low scores in the competition as well. I felt like I needed to contribute with some runs. I’m disappointed not to go on with a big one but pleased to have got a hundred.”
