It took them 44 years, but England has finally done it. Neither a tied game nor a spirited New Zealand could stop England from bringing the trophy home at the Lord's on Sunday. It finally took a Super Over for England to be crowned winners of the 2019 World Cup.
The regulation 50 overs ended in a tie as both teams managed to score 241 and the resultant super over also failed to produce any clear result as they ended up scoring 15 runs each in their respective overs. New Zealand scored 241/8 in their allotted overs and that was followed by England posting the same score, although they were all out. To determine who will lift the trophy, for the first time in a World Cup a Super over was played and guess what scores there ended up the same as well. Fifteen after six balls to each team.
So why is it that despite the scores being tied after Super Over it was England who won the World Cup?
However, the hosts clinched the encounter due to a tie-break rule because they hit the most boundaries. In the 50-over contest, England hit 24 boundaries while New Zealand had 16. And, in the Super Over, the home team blasted two fours, and Jimmy Neesham scored a six off Jofra Archer’s bowling. It was due to these fine margins that England became the newest World Champions.
Under World Cup final rules, the tied match went to a Super Over in which the best batsmen of one team try to score the most runs against a nominated bowler from the other. Both teams scored 15 runs in that over but England won on a countback of boundaries scored during the match.
It was the cruelest way for New Zealand's giant-killing run through the tournament to end. When it came to the last of the 50 overs, and England still needing 15 runs with only two wickets left, fans were growing confident of a New Zealand win.
