The final of the World Cup will see New Zealand take on a rampant England side at Lord’s on Sunday (July 14). England are heavy favourites to finally lift the crown in their home ground while New Zealand will look to pull off another upset at Lord’s to become a first-time world champion. Ahead of the World Cup final against England, New Zealand coach Gary Stead said that the team do not have to play the perfect game but only need to adapt to the conditions.
“There are lots of positive things. There is real fight in the way we have played and we do not have to play the perfect game but what we have to do is that we need to be able to adapt to the conditions that will be in front of us…. I hope that we keep putting out best foot forward for the final that is coming up,” Stead said during the pre-match press conference on Friday.
Stead also opined that there is pressure on both the teams and it all comes down to which team handles it properly.
“The pressure is on both teams and it is how you handle that. The exciting thing is that neither of the team has won the World Cup and both have some finals experience but you are going to have a different winner than last time,” he said.
New Zealand defeated India by 18 runs in the semi-final played on July 9 and July 10 (due to rain). After posting a target of 240 runs, New Zealand bowlers, Matt Henry and Trent Boult, thwarted India’s top order as they reduced them to 5/3 inside four overs.
Stead praised Boult and Henry but also applauded Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni’s fighting spirit as the duo played a knock of 77 and 50 runs respectively.
“I think the opening bowling spell of Mat Henry and Trent Boult was absolutely superb and Indian bowlers bowled superbly too but we managed to get the edge. Jadeja and Dhoni’s partnership was outstanding and it was another good example for me of how our guys stood up under the pressure,” Stead concluded.
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