The Black Caps are through to the Twenty20 World Cup final in the United Arab Emirates, after a match-winning innings from Daryl Mitchell.
Daryl Mitchell (right) celebrates with Devon Conway after hitting a boundary. Photo: David Gray/Photosport Ltd 2021
Mitchell has blasted an unbeaten 72 from 47 balls to lead New Zealand to a five wicket win over England in their semifinal in Abu Dhabi.
He guided the Black Caps to the 167 required for victory with an over to spare after hitting Chris Woakes for 19 runs in the penultimate over of the match.
"Obviously a bit of a whirlwind there," Mitchell said in his post-match TV interview.
"I can't really remember what was going on for the last half [of that] but it's nice to get the job done and move on to the big dance."
Woakes had halted New Zealand's early progress.
He dismissed Martin Guptill for four in the first over and captain Kane Williamson for five in the third over to leave the Black Caps 13 for two.
Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell then combined for an 83-run partnership for the third wicket to give New Zealand hope.
When Conway was dismissed for 46 in the 14th over the Black Caps needed 72 runs from 38 balls.
All-rounder Jimmy Neesham then gave New Zealand's run chase impetus. He smashed 27 from just 11 balls, taking Chris Jordan's third over, the 17th of the innings, for 23.
Mitchell then finished the job to secure the Black Caps a place in Monday morning's final against either Pakistan or Australia.
"I thought the way Devon Conway batted through the middle there and helped us set up a platform [was key]," Mitchell said. "Then the way Neesh came in and struck it as clean as he did, it really helped us.
"T20 is a game of momentum and we tried to hang in there as long as we could ... we knew we needed one or two big overs, definitely, and the way [Jimmy] struck the ball from pretty much ball one was amazing.
"It helped us get that momentum, put England under pressure and we were lucky enough to get [some] over the rope."
Trent Boult reacts after Jos Buttler hits him for a boundary. Photo: David Gray/Photosport Ltd 2021
England posted 166 for four after being sent into bat, smashing 99 runs in the second-half of their innings.
Moeen Ali top scored with an unbeaten 51, while Dawid Malan struck 41 from 30 deliveries.
Tim Southee was the best of the Black Caps bowlers, finishing with figures of one wicket for 24 from his four overs.
Fellow opening bowler Trent Boult was expensive. His four overs cost 40 runs and and he finished wicket-less.
Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi and Neesham took a wicket each, while frontline left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner bowled just one over.
Black Caps captain Kane Williamson said the game lived up to its billing.
"It ebbed and flowed, as they seem to often do against [England], but really chuffed with the heart that was shown throughout that performance," Williamson said in his post-match TV interview.
"I thought they had a pretty competitive total on the board at the halfway stage ... obviously just an outstanding knock from Daryl Mitchell at the top but staying there, building those little partnerships and just trying to cash in some small moments and some matchups was really the difference."
Williamson expanded on his praise for Mitchell, and also noted the importance of Neesham's innings.
"[Daryl opening] was not an experiment in terms of his character and that's definitely something that stood out today and has stood out pretty much every game he's played for us. It was an incredible knock.
"Yeah, he hasn't done it a lot at the top of the order but there's a real quality there and he's come in and batted beautifully in a high pressure situation.
"[Jimmy] came out and hit the ball hard, that's what he does.
"It was a really valuable knock for us obviously to change the momentum of the game really ... some really clever, strong hitting towards the back end, which was ultimately the deciding factor."
