England’s Liam Livingstone certainly turned the course of the match against New Zealand in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup in Abu Dhabi with his bowling after he scalped wickets at important junctions and eventually returned with impressive figures of 2/22 in 4 overs.
Chasing a formidable 167 in 20 overs, the Blackcaps had a struggling start after they lost Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson early and were reduced to 13/2 in the third over but Daryl Mitchell and Devon Conway steadied the ship for the side with a 82-run stand for the third wicket.
But it was Livingstone who made the important breakthrough after he removed Conway for a 38-ball 46 who was stumped by Jos Buttler. The spinner then made another important breakthrough and scalped the wicket of Glenn Phillips for 2 off 4 after he was caught by Sam Billings.
Bowling the 16th over of the game due to the lack of England’s death bowling option, the part-timer bowled a three-run over picking the crucial wickets of Glenn Phillips, known well across the world for his big hitting prowess.
Earlier, in the day, England rode on Moeen Ali’s unbeaten half-century to put 166/4 in the allotted 20 overs. While Moeen scored 51* off 37, Dawid Malan chipped in with a 30-ball 41.