Player of the Match
Player of the Match

Well New Zealand and the broadcasters have assumed New Zealand will finish second on the table and thus face England, but you never know, do you? There is still one game to go to be sure about that. Pakistan face Scotland shortly and need to win to stay top of the table. Today, though, has been the story of New Zealand's efficiency, who got the worst of the schedules in this group: three matches in five days in three different venues and in the afternoon heat. So basically you are turning up at the venue at the day of the game, taking a look at the surface and then deciding how you will go about it. Not to mention they lost all three tosses too. They are through to the semis now, and should Pakistan win tonight, they stay7 in Abu Dhabi. That's all we have from this game. Thanks for joining us. Okay bye.

Winning captain Kane Williamson: "Strong performance. We know how dangerous this Afghanistan side is. Nice for us to be able to set the tone with the ball, take wickets early and then keep them to below-par total. 150-155 would have been par. It has certainly been a challenge to adjust quickly to three different venues. Another strong challenge coming up. England are a very strong side. For us it is important we keep learning and building on. Incredibly tough competition. Looking forward to the occasion."

Losing captain Mohammad Nabi says: "This has been our plan to win the toss and put on a decent total on the board. But we didn't start well. Then Najib brought us back but again we didn't finish back. 150-160 would have been a decent total on this pitch. On this kind of pitch, this is not a decent total. Still we tried our best with the ball. We played good cricket in the tournament, and we will take a lot of positives. We need to correct the mistakes we made with the bat."

Trent Boult is the Player of the Match. "Nice to get the peformance this afternoon," he says. "The boys are in good spirits. Some big games coming up. Wickets have been different during the day games and night games so nice to have experienced both. England are playing good cricket. It is going to be a challenge."

That is an efficient professional showing from an efficient and professional side. They needed to win three day games in five days, they lost three tosses, but never slipped up. Every uprising from the aspiring sides was quelled efficiently. If it was spinners and change of pace in the previous game, they did it with pace and bounce here. Between them the quicks bowled 12 overs for 58 runs and six wickets. Hugs between Williamson and Rashid, and Williamson and Nabi. Afghanistan tried their best here, but needed a bit more luck. They came close against Afghanistan but Asif Ali made full use of that one weak over left. Then they lost Mujeeb. And against New Zealand, they stood little chance on a pitch that had good pace and carry. For India, it has just been three Sundays Bloody Sundays.

New Zealand will wait for the result of Pakistan's game tonight to know whether they stay in Abu Dhabi or go to Dubai. If Pakistan win as expected, New Zealand will stay here to face England in the first semi-final. Else they go to Dubai to face Australia in the second.

The 2021 T20 World Cup has seen some awesome outfits sported by the teams. Leaving aside team loyalties, which one of them is really your favourite? Vote here.

18.1
1
Gulbadin Naib to Conway, 1 run, slower ball, punched down to long-on, and New Zealand are through to the semi-finals

Gulbadin for the formalities

END OF OVER:
18 | 6 Runs | NZ: 124/2 (1 run required from 12 balls, RR: 6.88, RRR: 0.50)

  • Devon Conway35 (31b)
  • Kane Williamson40 (42b)
  • Naveen-ul-Haq2-0-16-0
  • Mujeeb Ur Rahman4-0-31-1
17.6
1lb
Naveen-ul-Haq to Conway, 1 leg bye, wide on the crease, slower ball outside leg, Conway gets a leg-bye. Scores are level now
17.5
1
Naveen-ul-Haq to Williamson, 1 run, full, driven with an open face, gets it wide of mid-off but can't get past Zazai's dive there
17.4
1
Naveen-ul-Haq to Conway, 1 run, on a length, on the pads, clipped away for one
17.3
1
Naveen-ul-Haq to Williamson, 1 run, slower again, dug into the surface, dabbed away for another single
17.2
0
Naveen-ul-Haq to Williamson, no run, slower ball, short of a length, stays low, hits the bottom edge
17.1
2
Naveen-ul-Haq to Williamson, 2 runs, Williamson down the wicket to chip this length ball over extra cover for two more

New Zealand seven runs from the semi-final. Naveen to bowl now. I would have continued with Hamid because there is not going to be a 19th over anyway

END OF OVER:
17 | 10 Runs | NZ: 118/2 (7 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 6.94, RRR: 2.33)

  • Devon Conway34 (29b)
  • Kane Williamson36 (38b)
  • Mujeeb Ur Rahman4-0-31-1
  • Hamid Hassan3-0-14-0
16.6
2
Mujeeb Ur Rahman to Conway, 2 runs, short of a length, angling in, punched wide of mid-on for two
16.5
0
Mujeeb Ur Rahman to Conway, no run, down the wicket again, Mujeeb shortens the length, punched to short cover
16.4
2
Mujeeb Ur Rahman to Conway, 2 runs, reverse-sweep, gets enough timing and placement for a couple to deep point
16.4
1w
Mujeeb Ur Rahman to Conway, 1 wide, wide down the leg side

New Zealand 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st26MJ GuptillDJ Mitchell
2nd31MJ GuptillKS Williamson
3rd68KS WilliamsonDP Conway

ICC Men's T20 World Cup

First Round Group A
TeamMWLPTNRR
SL33063.754
NAM3214-0.523
IRE3122-0.853
NED3030-2.46
First Round Group B
TeamMWLPTNRR
SCOT33060.775
BAN32141.733
OMA3122-0.025
PNG3030-2.655
Group 1
TeamMWLPTNRR
ENG54182.464
AUS54181.216
SA54180.739
SL5234-0.269
WI5142-1.641
BAN5050-2.383
Group 2
TeamMWLPTNRR
PAK550101.583
NZ54181.162
IND53261.747
AFG52341.053
NAM5142-1.89
SCOT5050-3.543