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Eng Vs Sl 1St T20i Jos Buttler Bowlers Hand Hosts Comprehensive Win

ENG vs SL | 1st T20I: Jos Buttler, bowlers hand hosts comprehensive win

England had a perfect start to the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka on Wednesday in Cardiff after they defeated the visitors by 8 wickets to go 1-0 up. Chasing 130 in 20 overs, the hosts went over the line in 17.1 overs riding on an unbeaten half-century from Jos Buttler.

The home side started off the chase in a comfortable manner after openers Jason Roy and Buttler put 80 on the board for the first wicket before Roy departed for 36 off 22. Dushmantha Chameera provided Sri Lanka with the first breakthrough.

England then lost Dawid Malan who came in at number three for just 7 runs while the team score read 112 but Buttler and Jonny Bairstow made sure that there were no further fall of wickets. Bairstow remained not out for 13.

Earlier, Sri Lanka who won the toss elected to bat first but had a disappointing start to the proceedings after losing Avishka Fernando for a four-ball duck in the innings.

Gunathilaka was then joined by captain Kusal Perera and the two stitched 29 runs for the second wicket before Gunathilaka was sent back in the hut for 19.

The opener’s departure was followed by some fall of wickets at regular intervals and Sri Lanka were soon reduced to 96/6 before Shanaka and Udana chipped in with some runs.

The two batsmen had a partnership of 33 runs for the seventh wicket. Shanaka though later was undone for 50 by Sam Curran and the visitors could only manage to score 129/7 in the allotted 20 overs.

Sam Curran and Adil Rashid scalped a couple of wickets for England while Mark Wood, Chris Jordan and Livingstone had one each.

Sri Lanka skipper Kusal Perera admitted that the batsmen didn’t put a good total on the board but was optimistic of making a comeback in the series. “Credit to England. They bowled well. We didn't have enough runs on the board. Our bowlers tried well. We are backing our batting to come back. Not a lot of time (before next match) and we hope to bounce back,” he said.

England captain Eoin Morgan was pretty happy with his team’s performance. “Quite a comprehensive performance. The pressure the boys created at the beginning, middle and end, was impressive. Bowlers made us look really good today, reduced Sri Lanka to an under-par score. Then the openers gave us that platform upfront, Jos showing his class once again. When you get ahead in the game, we have to sit back and get the best bowlers in certain situations. He (Livingstone) is an all-rounder in the squad, it was good to see him get a wicket early,” Morgan said after the match.

The two teams will now lock horns with each other in the second T20I on Thursday at the same venue.

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WTC Final | It's a very special feeling: Williamson after NZ's winning triumph

It was a historic day in the lives of the New Zealand cricket fraternity which waited 46 long years (New Zealand participated in its first-ever World Cup in 1975) to become a World Champion in any format of the game. And what format they chose to do so! the purest of them all. They defeated India by eight wickets in Southampton to be crowned the first-ever World Test Champions in the game’s 124-year-old history. Their skipper, Kane Williamson, as always trod carefully on his words to describe the greatest moment in his country’s cricketing history by calling it a ‘very special feeling’. Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, the 30-year-old complimented his team for showing a great fight in the rain-marred game to eke out a result in their favour. “The heart our team showed to get across the line in this great Test match. I've been part of [NZ cricket] for a short while, it's a very special feeling, the first time in our history we've come away with a world title,” he said. The Blackcaps skipper has always been referred to as a team man and he made sure that the name stuck to him as he thanked all the 22 players who were a part of the team’s two-year journey to this greatness. “We've had 22 players over the last two years, and they've all played their part and the support staff and the guys who played this match, it's a special achievement to be savoured,” said Williamson. It was after two back to back losses in the ODI World Cup Finals that New Zealand finally made it a third time lucky. “A couple of close ones [in ICC finals], nice to get one under the belt,” the skipper said on this victory. “I'd like to thank Virat and the Indian team, they're an incredible team, we know how much of a challenge it would be,” he added. Stressing upon the point how New Zealand is devoid of global stars which other big nations like India, Australia and England have the Tauranga born Kiwi captain lauded his team for showing heart in tough conditions against strong India. “We know we don't always have the stars, we rely on other bits and pieces to stay in the game and be competitive. We saw a lot of heart and commitment to our style of cricket in this game, we know how strong this Indian side is, in all conditions,” he said. Willaimson also praised the wicket for its nature and how even in hardly four days’ of play, it was able to produce a result. “It was a very sporting surface, and having only four days' cricket, there was always a chance of a result,” he said. At one point in time, when New Zealand lost both their openers in quick succession and Indian spinner Ravichandran Aswin was looking threatening, it was senior man Ross Taylor who steadied the Kiwi ship alongside Williamson. The duo added an unbeaten 96 for the fourth wicket to see their team home. Williamson praised the 37-year old for his commitment. “Ross is very experienced and very calm in those sort of situations, it was nice to be in partnership with Ross and be there at the end,’ he said. Taylor made an important 47* while Willaimson notched up his first fifty of the game, having missed out in the first innings by getting out on 49. It was the last game for New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman BJ Watling and he once again showcased why he is respected so much by his teammates and all Nee Zealand cricket fans, as even after a dislocated finger, he kept on keeping. Speaking on his commitment, Williamson said, “I don't know if he's retiring anymore, actually [chuckles]. He's a special member, a leader in our group, and really epitomises our team.” The 36-year-old South Africa born Watling had decided to call it quits after the WTC Final. He is now the most capped Kiwi wicket-keeper and also has the most runs, dismissals and highest individual score for a wicket-keeper batsman in New Zealand’s history. Describing Watling’s journey and how this win encapsulates it, Williamson said, “A scrappy performance, which is close to his heart, because he's a scrappy player. A great occasion to celebrate, a great game of cricket, and obviously a great career which we'll celebrate."

Sometimes, just sometimes, nice guys do finish first: Twitter reacts to New Zealand’s WTC triumph

After six ODI World Cup Semi-Final appearances, two ICC T20 World Cup Semi-Final appearances, two ICC Championship Trophy Semi-Final appearances, going 20 years without any ICC Trophy in their kitty (won ICC Knockout Trophy in 200, it was the predecessor to Champions Trophy), most recently losing in two ODI World Cup Finals, the latest being a shocking boundary count defeat in the 2019 World Cup after a Super Over tie, New Zealand finally came of age as they lifted the inaugural World Test Championship Mace by beating India by eight wickets in the Final at Southampton. This was the country’s first-ever World title in its 91 years of Test cricket history, having played the first Test against England in 1930. People were ecstatic with the victory of the ‘Good Boys’ or ‘Nice Guys’ of World Cricket, so much so that even Indian fans went on to applaud the Kiwi efforts of winning the game. The hashtag CongratulationsNZ trended in the top five in Twitter trends in India after the Blackcaps victory for a long time and a photo of Indian skipper Virat Kohli and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson went viral as well. After just over 310 overs being bowled in a minimum of 450 overs game and battling through the rain for most of the first four days, the victory by the New Zealand team was more than just magical. It was historic in the context of the game as they won the inaugural WTC Trophy. Kyle Jamieson was awarded Man of the Match.

Standing up here feels surreal: Man of the Match Kyle Jamieson after winning the WTC Final

Kyle Jamieson was short of words, he stuttered a bit, maybe in search of words for what he had achieved in such a young career of his. becoming Man of the Match in the greatest Test match ever to be played in the game of cricket is after all no mean feat. But when he did speak, his voice was as confident as his spell in the first innings. “To have something of this context in Test cricket is massive, and to be standing up here is surreal,” said the six-foot eight-inch framed man who swings the ball like a feather. Jamieson, who picked up his fifth five-wicket haul in only his eighth Test, was pleased with his skipper showing great confidence in him. “It was nice to get the ball first up and to play a part, I guess,” he said on his first innings performance while speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony at Southampton. While in the first innings it was his 5-31 that lifted the team, in the second innings, he did an even exceptional job, removing the Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara in the first hour of play on the last day of the match to give his team the advantage. “We knew we had a big first hour, and just to see how things panned out. We were hoping they might pan out our way if we put the ball in the right place, but we knew this is a quality Indian team as well,’ he said. Modesty is the name of the game it seems in New Zealand. Even the 26-year-old Jameison was modest enough to credit his senior fast bowlers Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner for all his achievements “The work that Tim, Trent, Wags do, I just ride in on the back of that,” he said. Talking about removing the opposition skipper and arguably the best batsman in the world right now, Virat Kohli in both the innings, Jamieson said he was thrilled to have done that.

WTC Final | Relentless Kiwis punish India, redeem themselves with first ICC title in decades

A calm and composed partnership between two senior pros Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor made 139 runs target set by India a fairly one-sided contest and clinched the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship for New Zealand. Ravichandran Ashwin used all the tricks and guile he had up his sleeve to bring India into reckoning with the big wickets of Tom Latham and Devon Conway, but the pair of Williamson and Taylor was too disciplined early on and lucky to be dismissed. In the end, in the most fitting way, Ross Taylor clipped Mohammed Shami over the in-field to score the winning runs and win New Zealand their first ICC title since 1999. However, the biggest henchmen for New Zealand’s were the bowlers, who never allowed India to get away with a flow of runs or an extended period of partnership. The day started on a rather inauspicious note for India as Virat Kohli, who appeared tentative in search of that nip backer that found him plumb in the first innings, edged behind to Watling behind the wicket on delivery he could have left it easily if not for the baggage of the first innings. The day went from bad to worse for Indians as Cheteshwar Pujara too fell for a similar dismissal by poking Jamieson to Ross Taylor at the first slip. Things could have been far worse than it actually turned out but Tim Southee spilt a sitter off the edge of Rishabh Pant’s bat. Vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and Pant started bringing India back on track but after the right-hander found a loss delivery outside off stump, he was strangled down the leg side off Trent Boult. Rahane’s departure led to an outrageous attempt of counter-attacking by Rishabh Pant, who went down the track to hit pacers over the top on numerous occasions but it was not to be for India. Ravindra Jadeja joined Pant to take India to the lunch interval with the lead in the range of 100 runs. But, just when Jadeja looked settled at the crease, Williamson switched to his tormentor-in-chief Wagner from round the wicket and he set up Jadeja with discipline and perseverance. Pant’s remarkable attempt to hit bowlers off their length did not pay off today and India’s lower-order batsmen were left helpless in the hands of the dominating New Zealand bowling lineup. In the end, India were bundled out for 170 runs and New Zealand had a clear target in their sight to lift the much-vaunted ICC Mace, and Williamson played a chanceless innings to deny India any opportunity to get back in the game. Taylor took a long time to get off the mark after walking out to the bat when the Blackcaps needed 93 runs but finally opened up his shoulders against the off-spin of Ravi Ashwin. He also offered a chance to Pujara at the first slip off Bumrah but India’s number three compounded poor batting performances by dropping a straightforward chance. Kyle Jamieson broke the backbone of India’s batting in both innings with the big wickets of Kohli, Pujara and Rohit Sharma and also played a handy knock with the bat to help New Zealand achieve a lead of 32 runs in the first innings, and was rightfully awarded with the Player of the Match award in the end.