England defeated New Zealand by 20 runs at the Gabba to make a strong step towards the semi-final of the tournament. Jos Buttler won the Man of the Match for his blistering knock, but he got a couple of lives by the New Zealand fielders. Kane Williamson also rues the drop catches of Buttler.
Advertisement
England won the toss and opted to bat first, and finally, the openers of the side proved their class. Both Joss Buttler and Alex Hales scored half-centuries to lead England to a score of 179-6. Apart from Mitchell Santner, all the other Kiwi bowlers were quite expensive in their quota of overs.
Apart from Glenn Phillips, the rest of the Kiwi batters failed to impress. Phillips scored 62 runs in just 36 balls with the help of 3 sixes and 4 boundaries. In the end, New Zealand managed to make just 159 runs in 20 overs and lost the match.
Kane Williamson rues Jos Buttler’s drop catch
New Zealand’s captain Kane Williamson regrets dropping the catch of Jos Buttler in the middle. He said that Buttler is one of the best players in the world, and he will definitely make the teams pay on his day. Williamson insists that Buttler made boundaries look small at the Gabba, which definitely are not. Apart from Williamson, Daryl Mitchell also dropped Jos Buttler.
Williamson has also been criticized for the false catch claim against Jos Buttler. He is famous for his sportsmanship, but the catch he claimed definitely was far from taken. Williamson insists that he thought he squeezed the catch, but it was an embarrassing moment in the end. He also had a lot of praise for Glenn Phillips.
“One of, if not the best player in the game. If you do that he’ll make you pay, made the boundaries look small, which they certainly are not. I thought I squeezed the catch into my chest, a bit embarrassing. Phillips, batting beautifully on some difficult pitches. Long may that continue,” Kane Williamson said about Jos Buttler.
Kane Williamson disappointed about New Zealand’s finish
Williamson said that the total posted by the English batters was an above-par total. He said that the team tried to take the game deep, but the English bowlers bowled really well in the last few overs to pull the game back for the side.
“It was a slightly above-par total. We tried to take it deep, but credit to the way they bowled. It was a fair surface, we were in it in the second half but needed a few things to go our way,” Kane Williamson added.
