England Lift Maiden World Cup Trophy After Super Over Thriller

London: ICC World Cup had a new champion in England, which lifted the trophy for the first time at Lord’s on Sunday.

The match between England and New Zealand ended in a tie in the stipulated 50 overs. England was crowned champions on the basis of more number of boundaries than New Zealand in the match after the Super Over also ended in a tie.

Earlier in the day, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson won the toss, which was delayed by 15 minutes due to overnight rain, and elected to bat first. They played an unchanged XI and so did the hosts. 

New Zealand ended their innings at 241 for 8 and England need 242 to win their first-ever World Cup trophy. The 100-run stand between Ben Stokes (84) and Jos Buttler (59) took England closer to the target. Thereafter wickets fell in quick succession. With 2 runs to win in one ball, Adil Rashid ran himself out and the match went to Super Over.

England made 15 in the Super Over, and New Zealand managed to tie the score, giving away the match and trophy by boundary count.

Ben Strokes was adjudged Player of the Match.

A win in World Cup had always eluded England, which is home of cricket and the country’s national sport. They are the fourth host team to win the title after Sri Lanka in 1996, India in 2011 and Australia in 2015.