Brendon McCullum blazed 65 off 49 balls against Sri Lanka. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Brendon McCullum blazed 65 off 49 balls against Sri Lanka. Photo / Brett Phibbs
From pool play to semifinal, the Black Caps’ bowling attack andm inspired batting led to the heart-in-mouth win over South Africa.
Pool A
NZ v Sri Lanka
Hagley Oval, Christchurch, Feb 14 NZ won by 98 runs How it unfolded: It was a drizzly, grey old morning with which to start the World Cup and the air was just as heavy with nerves as it was moisture. New Zealand had beaten Sri Lanka comfortably in an ODI series just prior to the tournament, but this was the World Cup. New Zealand lost the toss and were forced to bat in the gloom, but Brendon McCullum would launch an extraordinary tone-setting attack, blazing 65 off 49 balls. New Zealand scored 331 and Sri Lanka never got close.
Key player: Brendon McCullum Key moment: Kumar Sangakkara had played the Black Caps' attack in the prior ODI series and was set to do so again before Trent Boult trapped him in front for 39. Sangakkara reviewed but it was struck down and that, pretty much, was that for Sri Lankans.
University Oval, Dunedin, Feb 17 NZ won by 3 wickets How it unfolded: Trent Boult and Tim Southee ripped the top off the Scotland batting - they were 1-2 and 12-4 - before any resistance was met. In the search for 143, New Zealand made a mess of their chase while pursuing quick runs for net run rate consideration. Only Kane Williamson (38) and Grant Elliott emerged from the batting with much credit.
Key player: Trent Boult Key moment: The first two legal deliveries of the second over. Boult swung it late and it was too good for Calum MacLeod and Hamish Gardiner. The score stood at 1-2 and it was essentially contest over.
NZ v England
Wellington Regional Stadium, Feb 20 NZ won by 8 wickets How it unfolded: It didn't so much unfold for England as unravel. Southee bowled two peaches to get rid of Ian Bell and Moeen Ali, but it was during his second spell that he was untouchable, taking 7-33 as England went from 104-3 to 123 all out. McCullum's 77 off 25 balls meant the game was finished in just 12.2 overs of New Zealand's innings.
Key player: Tim Southee Key moment: The 26th over of England's innings, Vettori has just dismissed Eoin Morgan and New Zealand's fourth and fifth bowlers have settled nicely into their work. McCullum instead throws the switch, bringing Southee back on and going for the jugular. Within two balls the plan has paid off, with Southee getting James Taylor to kickstart the rout.
NZ v Australia
Eden Park, Auckland, Feb 28 NZ won by 1 wicket How it unfolded: Australia started as if they had a total of 400 in mind and in the end were lucky to get 151 as Brad Haddin and Pat Cummins put on 45 for the last wicket. Boult (5-27) was the chief destroyer but Daniel Vettori was the architect, first halting the charge and then taking the key wickets of Shane Watson and Steve Smith. McCullum (50 off 24) again looked to make NZ's chase a formality, but Mitchell Starc (6-28) went crazy and in the end it was left to Kane Williamson to lift a six to win the game.
Key player: Kane Williamson Key moment: Five needed to win, plenty of time left, just one wicket. Williamson shuffled outside leg, exposed his stumps and lured Cummins into going straight. It wasn't the biggest or cleanest-hit six you'll ever see, but it lifted the roof at Eden park.
NZ v Afghanistan
McLean Park, Napier, March 8 NZ won by 6 wickets How it unfolded: Afghanistan won the toss and batted, much to the disappointment of the locals. Vettori (4-18) was too good and the chase for 187 was made without many fireworks or alarms. Moving on.
Key player: Daniel Vettori Key moment: It would be doing an injustice to the term to say there was one. World Cup organisers here were disappointed with Napier's performance as a host venue, so perhaps this insipid match was karma for such pitiful crowds for the Pakistan-UAE and West Indies-UAE matches.
NZ v Bangladesh
Seddon Park, Hamilton, March 13 NZ won by 3 wickets How it unfolded: For the first time, New Zealand began to look a bit frayed around the edges as Bangladesh posted a competitive 288, thanks to Mahmudullah's (128) second consecutive century. A five-pronged spin attack briefly looked to flummox New Zealand, although Martin Guptill's composed century should have been enough for a comfortable victory. Crucial wickets and some dubious shot-making combined to give New Zealand the jitters, but Vettori and Southee eventually saw them home with seven balls to spare.
Key player:
Martin Guptill
Key moment:
There was genuine hope Southee would turn himself into a genuine allrounder early in his career; now we'll just take little cameos like this. His six-four combination made the game safe for New Zealand when it was starting to look decidedly sticky.
Tim Southee was the key player in the match against England. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Quarter-final
NZ v West Indies
Wellington Regional Stadium, March 21 NZ won by 143 runs How it unfolded: It unfolded like this: Guptill brought up a steadying 50 after the loss of McCullum and Williamson, turned that first into a fluent century, then an epic 150, before hitting the afterburners and bringing up an incandescent double-ton, New Zealand's first in limited overs. His 237 was the game, really. Sure, the West Indies had some rollicking fun (they went at more than eight an over), and Vettori took the catch of the tournament, but they were only sidebars to the story.
Key player: Martin Guptill Key moment: Guptill was on four when he turned a ball around the corner and straight into, and out of, the hands of Marlon Samuel. Ouch.
Semifinal
NZ v South Africa
Eden Park, Auckland, March 24 NZ won by 4 wickets (D/L) How it unfolded: This unfolded tortuously, torturously and, eventually, thrillingly. New Zealand were left to chase 293 off 43 after an AB de Villiers and David Miller assault. In truth, it could have been worse, were it not for some timely Auckland rain. McCullum started explosively (you may have read that line before), and the rest of the order chipped away at the huge total. Still, it looked a bit forlorn until Elliott (84 not out) and Corey Anderson combined for a century fifth-wicket partnership of real guts. Anderson's dismissal hurt but Elliott and Vettori brought them home in stunning style.
Key player: Grant Elliott Key moment: The last over, bowled by Dale Steyn. Twelve needed, though effectively 11 with New Zealand winning a tie on countback. It went bye, 1, four to Vettori squeezed through backward point, bye, and a glorious pull-cum-slog by Elliott into the wide long on stand. Marvellous.
