ON THIS DAY IN 2019: The 2019 Cricket World Cup final was held on July 14, 2019, at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, England. The final was contested between England and New Zealand. It was a thrilling match that went down to the wire and ended in a tie, leading to a super over to determine the winner.
WATCH THE WINNING MOMENT HERE
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first. They struggled early on and were reduced to 103 for 5 at one stage. However, a crucial partnership between Tom Latham and Colin de Grandhomme helped New Zealand post a competitive total of 241 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in their allotted 50 overs. Henry Nicholls top-scored with 55, while Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett were the pick of the English bowlers, taking 3 wickets each.
Chasing 242 runs to win, England got off to a shaky start, losing early wickets. Ben Stokes played a brilliant innings of 84 runs and, with some support from Jos Buttler, took England close to the target. However, a dramatic twist occurred in the final over.
With England needing 9 runs off 3 balls, Stokes hit the ball towards the deep midwicket boundary. As he ran for two, a throw from the fielder hit his bat and deflected to the boundary, resulting in 6 runs instead of 2.
The match ended in a tie as England finished their innings at 241 for the loss of 10 wickets in 50 overs.
As per the tournament rules, a super over was used to decide the winner. England batted first in the super over and scored 15 runs off the 6 balls bowled by Trent Boult.
New Zealand needed 16 runs to win the World Cup. Jofra Archer bowled the super over for England, and New Zealand managed to score 15 runs off it, also losing a wicket in the process.
Since both teams scored 15 runs in the super over, the winner was decided by the boundary count rule, which was controversial. England had hit more boundaries in the match (26) compared to New Zealand’s 17, so England was declared the winners of the 2019 Cricket World Cup based on boundary countback. It was a heartbreaking moment for New Zealand as they narrowly missed out on winning their first-ever World Cup title.
The 2019 Cricket World Cup final will be remembered as one of the most thrilling and closely contested matches in the history of cricket. The match showcased the spirit and intensity of the game, and both teams displayed exceptional skills and sportsmanship throughout.