Trent Boult and Matt Henry were expected to present a tough challenge to England with the new ball in the first 10 overs. That's exactly what they did but couldn't do as much damage as they did to India in the semis with luck not favouring the Black Caps this time.
On the very first ball of the innings, Trent Boult bowled a beautiful in-swinger that hit Jason Roy on the pad and the on-field umpire gave it not out. DRS was applied to but it remained an umpire's call. But the two opening bowlers went on to bowl highly testing spells with a lot of unplayable deliveries that Roy and Jonny Bairstow were lucky to survive against.
However, English openers didn't give up their aggression and whenever a loose ball came their way, they ensured that it reached the boundary. But the Kiwi bowlers kept them honest and just when Boult seemed like losing his steam, Henry stepped up to get the big wicket of Jason Roy. With Roy gone early, the whole equation of the match changes as he could have taken the match away from the Black Caps.
But Joe Root, batting with his characteristic calmness and Jonny Bairstow looking more solid than he usually does, ensured that Boult remains wicket-less and Henry has to be content with one wicket. The two bowlers were taken out of the attack and Colin de Grandhomme and Jimmy Neesham were brought into the attack. The former could have had the wicket of Bairstow in his very first over but dropped a relatively easy caught-and-bowled chance. England reached their 50 in the 14th over. This match may turn out to be a nail-biter.
