New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell said that James Neesham's quickfire cameo gave the team much-needed momentum during their chase against England in the first semi-final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 on November 10 (Wednesday) in Abu Dhabi.
Mitchell smashed an unbeaten 72 to take New Zealand into their first-ever T20 World Cup final with a thrilling five-wicket victory over England. After guiding New Zealand to ICC World Cup 2021 final, the opener called it a “very special win” against England.
Chasing 166 for victory, the Black Caps were in trouble at 107-4, but at that time, Neesham took the charge of the side and turned the semi-final in his team’s favor with his cameo of 11-ball 27, as the Kiwis chased down the target with one over to spare and 5 wickets in hand in Abu Dhabi.
Mitchell said at the post-match press conference, “The way Jimmy Neesham came out and hit the ball from the get-go was pretty special. He got us the momentum heading into the final overs. The rate was pretty high at that stage. Yeah, a very special win against England.”
He added, “Any game you win for your country is pretty special. It is nice to contribute and help us get over the line. We have another big match coming up in the next two days. Pretty excited about that.”
The all-rounder further said of the enthralling semi-final between England and New Zealand in Abu Dhabi: “The new ball was pretty challenging on that surface. It was two-paced to start off with, it was tough to get going. Very lucky that few balls got over the ropes, I think it was a hell of a game, the way England played was really special as well.
To be honest, once the rate gets high, you try to make sure that you get your matchups right. Yeah, for us, we were very lucky. For me, it was nice to hit it out of the middle, it was nice to get it done.”
After losing the tied 2019 World Cup final to England on the boundary-countback rule, New Zealand won the World Test Championship against India earlier this year and now they made it to their first-ever T20 World Cup final and Mitchell said his team will give everything to win the trophy for their people.
He signed off by saying, “We are a bunch of Kiwis, there are just five million of us so we are proud to be representing our country. We have had some success in the last few years. We are going to enjoy the win tonight and then we move on pretty quickly. We will give it everything we have got in the finals.”
(With ANI Inputs)
