England became the third team to reach the 2019 ICC World Cup semi-finals after they won a must win game against New Zealand by 119 runs.
Had the Kiwis won their game against England, they would have become the third team to reach the semis.
England went into the 2019 ICC World Cup as the favourites but three losses to Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka put them in a perilous position that made it a must for them to win against the Kiwis to make the semis. They did exactly that thanks to a strong performance with both bat and ball.
Jonny Bairstow led the way for England with the bat hitting his second consecutive century that won him the man of the match award. He received good support from Jason Roy whose return to the side has given England that spark they were missing. England were on target to get a score in excess of 340 but some good bowling by the Kiwis pegged them back and they could only get 305.
New Zealand’s batting has failed throughout the tournament and only their captain Kane Williamson has fired his side to victory. The Kiwis once again collapsed but this time around Williamson could not play the rescue act and New Zealand folded tamely for just 186. Mark Wood took 3 wickets while the rest of the bowlers chipped in with a wicket each to give England a well-deserved victory.
England now joins defending champions Australia and India as the other semi-finalists.
New Zealand are currently fourth in the points table and will most likely make it to the semi-finals as they have 11 points and a better net run rate than Pakistan who have an outside chance of qualifying provided them win their next match against Bangladesh and do so in convincing fashion to improve their net run rate.
While the Kiwis should qualify for the semi-finals, they will be concerned with both their bowling and batting. The Kiwis started the tournament in fine fashion but have lost their momentum after losing their last three games. The biggest problem for New Zealand is at the top of their order as their openers look completely out of form!
An un-official prediction for the semi-finals will be Australia against New Zealand while India will play England
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