New Zealand overcome a spirited challenge from England in a thriller; 5 TALKING POINTS OF THE MATCH

New Zealand overcome a spirited challenge from England in a thriller; 5 TALKING POINTS OF THE MATCH: In what was one of the most gloomy finishes, the rain hit game was uncertain till the last over. Though rain was pouring down quite heavily fans didn’t budge an inch and waited patiently to watch what unfolded eventually as a crackerjack contest. Having won the toss and opting to bat in what was a heaven for the batters, New Zealand were all guns blazing with Brendon McCullum in a mood to thrash and whack every delivery on sight. After the skipper departed middle order Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor carried the momentum forward and shifted gears. With the help of a few cameos in the end by Luke Ronchi and Grant Elliot New Zealand posted a daunting 398 on the board. The England openers gave a good solid start to their team. Eoin Morgan capitalized on the start and was in murderous mood as he plundered fours and sixes at will. But despite his heroics and Plunkett’s late blitzkrieg, the target was out of reach for them and the D/L method made life even more difficult for them. England fell short by an agonizing 13 runs. New Zealand overcome a spirited challenge from England in a thriller; 5 TALKING POINTS OF THE MATCH: 1. The Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill Partnership: Brendon McCullum. (© Getty Images) In what was a belter of a pitch for the batsmen New Zealand were compelled to post a huge score on the board. And Brendon McCullum just perfectly laid the foundation for that with his flashy batting that demoralized the helpless English bowlers. Martin Guptill too joined the party and plundered his share of boundaries. The wonderful start paved way for their team to post a winning total on the board. 2) Ross Taylor’s innings: Ross Taylor. (Photo Source: AFP) Ross Taylor was out of form coming into this series. Not many people put their money on him to do what he did today. But he disproved all the doubters with a classy innings of 119 runs off 96 balls that propelled New Zealand’s score past 350. He struck 10 fours and 4 sixes. Taylor also registered 37 dot balls. Had it not been for those dot balls his strike rate would have been even more impressive. It was his day and there was no stopping him! 3) Trent Boult’s Bowling: Trent Boult. (© Getty Images) One of the best bowlers in the world currently is this lad Trent Boult from New Zealand. He can run in and hit the deck hard and also bowl at a healthy pace good enough to cause confusion in the batsman’s mind. Boult did just that today and bowled exceedingly well on a pitch that offered very little assistance for the bowlers. He was the most economical bowler of the match and picked up two wickets including the crucial wicket of Jos Buttler. 4) Eoin Morgan’s valiant effort: Eoin Morgan. (© Getty Images) Eoin Morgan has long been one of the most underperforming players. But today he was in sublime touch and scored 88 runs off just 47 balls in what was a display of batting with exquisite timing coupled with power and aggression. Morgan registered a strike rate of over 187 with 6 sixes and 6 fours. He fought a lone battle valiantly but couldn’t take the team home unfortunately. 5) The Duckworth Lewis Method: Rain played a spoilsport yesterday. (Photo Source: AFP) The match today was decided on the basis of the Duckworth Lewis method, the usual method that is applied for rain hit matches. Rain and its friend bad light have long been interfering into cricket matches. Today was a classic example of how the D/L method can change the fortunes of a side. England were cruising at one point of time, but occasional rain interruptions disrupted the batsmen’s concentration and also the equation was near to impossible. Tom Moody recently criticized the method in the recently concluded IPL. It is a major concern that the method is altering the balance of the game so drastically and eventually changing the result of the game in awkward fashion. I think it is time that ICC alters this infamous method that has broken a lot of hearts. Sometimes the deserving winner goes unrewarded due to this very method. We hope that ICC reconsiders it, but they shouldn’t leave it too little too late!