After New Zealand's dramatic chase over England, we unpack the history made by Kane Williamson's men in FTX By the Numbers.
The first final
New Zealand’s thrilling five wickets victory against England in the semi-final in Abu Dhabi took them to the final of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup for the first time in history. Twice had they failed to cross the semi-finals stage in the past – losing to Pakistan in Cape Town in 2007 and England in Delhi in 2016.
The Kiwis have been the most consistent team in the men’s global tournaments in recent years. Since 2015, they have reached the final in three out of four World Cups.
They were runners up in ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2015 and 2019 and will play in the final of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 at Dubai International Stadium on November 14.
New Zealand are also the winners of the ICC World Test Championship. That happened after they defeated India in the final in Southampton earlier this year.
Since 2015, the only time when they failed to reach the final was in the T20 World Cup in India in 2016.
The tournaments’ team
New Zealand have the best match-winning record in the last four World Cups across ODI and T20 formats. Since 2015, they have won 23 out of 30 matches in the World Cups. Their win percentage (76.67) is the highest for any team.
Next best are Australia and India. Both have won 20 out of 27 matches in the last four World Cups with a win percentage of 74.07.
While the Kiwis have an excellent game-winning record, they have often faltered at the crucial stages. Of their seven defeats in the last four World Cups, three have come in the knockout stage. They have lost two Cricket World Cup Finals (2015 and 2019) and one T20 World Cup Semi Final (2016).
England’s rare semi-final failure
It is not easy to beat England in the semis. New Zealand are the first team in 38 years to get the better of England in a World Cup Semi Final.
The last time England lost in the semis was against India in Manchester in the World Cup 1983. After that they won five Semi Finals in a row – in Cricket World Cup 1987, 1992 and 2019 and T20 World Cup 2010 and 2016.
England and New Zealand had also locked horns in the semi-final of the previous T20 World Cup in Delhi in 2016. At that time England comfortably won by 7 wickets and with 17 balls remaining.
Last 10 overs
New Zealand were 58-2 and needed 109 to win from last 10 overs. It was only the second time that England bowlers failed to defend more than 100 runs in the last ten overs in ICC Men’s T20 World Cups.
The only other occasion where England couldn’t defend more than 100 runs in the second half of the innings was in the final of the previous T20 World Cup against West Indies in Kolkata in 2016. In that game, West Indies were 54-3 after ten overs and successfully scaled 102 runs in the last ten.
England’s most expensive over
With New Zealand needing 57 off 24 balls, Chris Jordan bowled England’s most expensive over of the T20 World Cup 2021 and conceded 23 runs. Prior to that, Jordan had bowled two overs for 10 runs only.
Most of the damage was done by Jimmy Neesham, who hit two sixes and a four in Jordan’s third over.
It wasn’t the first time England bowled their most expensive over of the tournament at a crucial juncture. In the previous T20 World Cup in 2016, England’s most expensive over of the tournament was 24 runs courtesy Carlos Brathwaite’s four sixes off Ben Stokes in the final in Kolkata.
England bowlers lacked discipline against New Zealand in the semi-final. A case in point is Mark Wood’s no-ball in the 11th over of the innings. It was first time in this World Cup that an England bowler conceded a free hit. New Zealand on the other hand have not conceded any free hit in the tournament.
Mitchell’s first award
While it was Neesham’s power-hitting that brought New Zealand back in the game, the opening batter Daryl Mitchell held his nerves and saw New Zealand through with 72 not out off 47 balls – his highest score in T20 Internationals.
Mitchell was also named Player of the Match, his first award for New Zealand in international cricket.
The 30 years old opened in T20Is for the first time in this tournament. Since moving at the top of the order, he has accumulated 197 runs (the most for New Zealand in T20 World Cup 2021) at an average of 39.40 and a strike-rate of 140.71.