England brought end to a 44-year wait for their first ICC Cricket World Cup title as they pipped a gritty New Zealand side due to more boundaries recorded following a tied Super Over in a nail-biting finish at Lord’s on Sunday.
Chasing a target of 242 for victory, the hosts were in trouble at 86/4 before a century partnership between Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes ensured England tied the contest, forcing a Super Over where more drama was followed.
Both sides scored 15 runs but England won due to a tie-break rule because they struck more boundaries.
Read - Twitter left stunned by a thrilling England vs New Zealand final
Eoin Morgan’s men had already climbed to the top of the ODI rankings heading into the tournament and, after plenty of highs and lows over the past six weeks, they eventually justified their tag as the bookmakers’ pre-tournament favourites to win the World Cup.
It was not an easy ride for England, whose defeats against Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia in the group stage put them on the brink of elimination.
But England kept their cool to defeat India and New Zealand and book a last-four spot before crushing Australia in the semi-finals and surviving one final test of their nerve against New Zealand in what will be remembered as the greatest ODI game ever.
While England celebrated, it was another heart-breaking loss for New Zealand, who also finished as runners-up in the previous World Cup in 2015 after losing to Australia in the final.
Here’s a look at some interesting numbers from the dramatic final:
(with AFP inputs)
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