Here's how the media reacted to the Black Caps' Super Over loss.
Scyld Berry of the Telegraph
The atmosphere on a damp Sunday evening at Eden Park, in front of a crowd below ten thousand, was nothing like the tumult on that Sunday evening in July when Lord's witnessed the most extraordinary climax of any cricket match - perhaps of any sporting event. Even so, England needed the steely-eyed and single-minded determination of Eoin Morgan to steer them home.
Back in July Morgan, with outward calm, had strolled over to Jofra Archer during the Super Over after he had been called for a wide then swung for six by New Zealand's hitter Jimmy Neesham. This time he had the far more experienced fast bowler Chris Jordan to bowl the Super Over, and this time Morgan helped by taking the catch which won the day, and this series 3-2: an exceptional feat for an England team close to being the T20 Lions.
Ali Martin of the Guardian
What followed in this series decider may have lacked some of the stomach-churning intensity of the World Cup final in July but the result was still the same, as Eoin Morgan's side emerged victorious – albeit by a more convincing margin of nine runs, rather than the boundary countback required at Lord's.
In fact, for all the sense of deja vu on a day when New Zealand made 146 for five in a rain-reduced match, only for England to force a tie seven down, the six-ball shootout was a bit of an anticlimax.
Niall Anderson of NZ Herald
Stop me if you've heard this one before.
Facing off in a winner-takes-all showdown, what looked a Black Caps victory over England quickly turned into a thrilling finish as England stormed home in their run-chase. Some late power hitting left the teams tied at the end of their allocated overs, with Jimmy Neesham heavily involved at the death, and Trent Boult unable to save a six on the boundary rope in the dying stages.
A Super Over was required to find a victor.
There, despite the best efforts of Martin Guptill and company, England came away with a thrilling triumph, and a trophy, while the Black Caps were left to rue what could have been, and reflect on where the trophy had slipped through their grasp.
No, this is not July. This is not the World Cup final. We were not at Lord's.
Someway, somehow, it happened again.
SOCIAL MEDIA
