Most Memorable Cricket World Cup Match

July 24, 2021

Which has been your most memorable cricket world cup match?

Above is a picture which shows two lions fighting each other. Can you imagine how deadly the war will be? Both have the same power, same energy, and same thirst to defeat the other. Yeah, maybe at last one lion will win by a mere margin, but yeah, the whole world will remember the fight for ages…

Same goes with this rivalry —

England vs New Zealand, Finals, CWC 2019.

Ironically both countries were fighting for their first ever CWC, despite of fighting so well for ages. England, who were the creators of cricket, had aimlessly seen other countries celebrating with the trophy and New Zealand, well, they were the team to have some sympathy on, along with RSA, for their utter bad luck.

But it was time to see one of them rejoicing after all the hardwork and pain.

NZ won the toss and decided to have a bat.

Both the Kiwi openers, Martin Guptill and Henry Nicholls were surviving well, but the partnership couldn't last long, as Chris Woakes removed Guptill for 19.

But much to what NZ wanted, Nicholls and skipper Kane built a strong partnership as they kept the Kiwi scorecard ticking. They stitched a partnership of 74 runs, before Kane fell to Plunkett.

This was from where the Englishmen's show begun.

Within no time, NZ lost 6 wickets, managing to add just 137 runs. NZ tail, who were known to stick hard like gum at the crease, fell for single digit scores. NZ, ended up with 241/8, which was still not an impressive score in a final.

England came out to bat, with the aim of scoring 242 and kissing the cup.

However, their start was much like that of the Kiwis. Matt Henry, one of the most underrated bowlers of NZC in ODIs, removed Jason Roy, the danger man, for 17. Bairstow though, was able to stick for 50+ balls before he noticed the stumps blown behind him.

Yeah, Lockie had striked.

England were 71/3, after Roy, Bairstow and even Joe Root departed. It seemed like the Englishmen would yet again choke in a final, like they did in 1992 and 2016. But here was where a Kiwi saved the English cricket team from drowning.

Don't get scared! Ben was born in NZ but played for England. He amassed the NZ bowlers mercilessly and left them clueless. I had never seen such a responsible innings from him before.

84*(98)

Simply a magical innings that was!

We move on a bit. It was the last over of the World Cup final. England needed 15 runs to win, while NZ needed, you can say, 2 wickets.

Ben Stokes hit Boult for a six in the third ball of the over. The equation tightened to 9 off 3.

Bingo! Stokes went for another biggie. The equation came down to 3 off 2.

Was that the end for NZ? I think, NO.

In the very next ball, after taking a single, Adil Rashid saw himself getting trapped as he got run out. The equation tightened to 2 off 1.

Will England manage to pull off? Or will the Kiwis celebrate?

In the last ball, Ben Stokes drove the ball for a single and had managed to take it! But when he ran for the victory, he saw Mark Wood regretting himself at the other end.

It was a draw! The game headed in to a super over!

The world had gone freaking crazy. Djokovic and Federer were scratching their heads at the Wimbledon final, and here too, the scenario was no different! Faster beat the hearts of sports aficionados!

In the super over, Stokes and Buttler went to bat. They managed to put 15 runs on board.

Now it was upto Neesham and Guptill to decide the fate of the game.

The over started with a regretful wide from Archer which followed a biggie by Neesh. Equation was 7 off 4, when England twisted the game a bit more.

Neesham and Guptill didn't hit biggies anymore, surprisingly. They aimed to finish the game by taking singles and doubles. As a result, 2 runs was needed off the final ball for NZ to win.

Final ball : Guptill hits the ball and takes the single. But as soon as he ran for the second, Jos Buttler dismissed him.

Jubilation was out there! Yes folks, ENGLAND HAD WON THE WORLD CUP, AS THEY HAD HIT MORE BOUNDARIES THAN NZ.

England lift the world cup! For the barest of all margins! For the barest of all margins! Absolute ecstacy for England! Agony, agony for New Zealand!

This moment, this match, it will always remain precious to me. Not that I supported the Englishmen, I was supporting the Kiwis, and felt very bad for them. But even a Kiwi fan cannot deny that the last runout moment defined a historical game of cricket.

Not just the game but :