The teams have contested some close matches in the recent past. England eliminated new Zealand in the 2016 T20 World Cup semi-final. The two sides then contested in the memorable 2019 ODI World Cup final where the teams couldn’t be separated even after two ties (one in the super over). England were finally awarded the trophy through the controversial boundary-count rule.
In the meantime, New Zealand, the current Test champions, won a hat-trick of Test series against England. Earlier this year, they beat England in England in a Test series after a 22-year gap.
However, England are a different beast under Eoin Morgan in white-ball cricket. Tracing England’s journey as one of the most dominant limited-overs sides, Sunil Gavaskar, in his column for the Times of India, wrote:
Despite missing Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Sam Curran, among other key players, England finished with four wins from their five Group 1 games.
England captain Eoin Morgan is one of the best in business: Sunil Gavaskar
Eoin Morgan’s tactical acumen has been the primary reason for England’s dominance in white-ball cricket. Sunil Gavaskar hailed the England power-hitters and Eoin Morgan’s astute leadership.
Calling the New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson in the same mold as Eoin Morgan, Sunil Gavaskar noted that the former’s calmness and competitiveness plays a role in making the Kiwis fierce opponents on the field.
Click here to view the T20 World Cup schedule.
91 votes
