The curtain will soon come down on the ICC World Cup. The two teams who have made it to the final are New Zealand and England, and for both sides, a win in the final will make it their first-ever victory in the ICC World Cup. The last time England played in the finals was 27 years back and New Zealand though having figured in the finals has never won the world cup. Thus this clash is of great interest, but the surprise is that the two fancied teams Australia and India have been swept away.

England in final

England entered the final in style by swamping the Aussies by eight wickets.

It was a thumping victory and a far cry from the last world cup when England failed to qualify and had to go back during the league stage. All credit to the English team who were in some danger of being eliminated this time also but sterling victories over India and New Zealand in their last two games gave them passage to the semifinal. The Guardian has reported that England beat the Black Caps by 119 in their previous league match.

New Zealand

Similarly, the New Zealand pace attack gave them an unlikely victory over fancied India in a match covered by Hotstar in the other semi-final.

The Indian batting collapsed with the 3 top batsmen falling for one run each. The victory was a turnaround as the black cats had lost their last three matches on the trot. England had also beaten them in their previous encounter, and this will be a sobering thought as they play the final.

Favourite team

England is clear favourites to win the title, but Cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties, and anything is possible.

The match to be played at the historic Lords ground in London will be a test of nerves. England may be favourites, but as one saw in the game against India, New Zealand is no pushover.

Lords will have English and New Zealand supporters in large numbers, and for once Indian supporters who have turned out in vast numbers will be missing.

Once India crashed out in the first semi-final, the interest of the Indian fans has gone down.

England will rely on their openers Roy and Bairstow to give a solid start. Roy is in great form and in case he clicks, New Zealand will have a tough time. New Zealand will aim to remove him like they got Dave Warner and the flood gates opened for them. The spinners will also have a role to play. Overall the team that holds its nerve will carry the day.

The pace attack of the two teams is evenly matched though Boult would be the best of the lot. The black cats will require their captain Kevin Williamson to fire on all cylinders to bolster the batting. Overall the match will be exciting and whoever wins it will be a first-ever World Cup victory for that team.

Chances

New Zealand will be hoping they win the toss and field first and their pace can use the heavy conditions to restrict England. If England builds a big score, New Zealand may find the going tough as apart from Williamson there are not many in the team who can run up a big score. On paper, England is the stronger team with an array of stroke players like Morgan and Root, but then nothing is certain, and New Zealand may well pull a rabbit from the hat.

Onlinebetting has reported that the odds are in heavily in favour of England
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