We were in till 18th over, but Neesham made the cut: England captain Eoin Morgan

Abu Dhabi: England Captain Eoin Morgan said England were in the game right up to 18th over, but James Neesham made the cut by hitting sixes right from ball one.

“Thought we were right in the game until probably the 17th, 18th overs. We had them exactly where we wanted them up until that point. It was (sluggish). We are a six-hitting side, but we struggled to hit sixes. But we hung in there and posted probably a par score. To come out and hit sixes from ball one like that - full credit to him (Neesham)," he told reporters in the post-match press conference.

"I think it was a very closely fought game right throughout. I thought Jimmy Neesham was probably the only guy that came out and was showing the ability to strike the ball cleanly from ball one," Morgan said.

Before the match, England were clear favourites after browsing the history pages, where everything weighed against New Zealand, even the Abu Dhabi pitch where 160-odd run chase was never achieved by any side.

But, Neesham and Daryl Mitchell turned the tables on England by taking charge and unleashed a flurry of big hits to speed up an outstanding win. Mitchell ended up scoring 72 off 47 balls seeing his team through to the end.

The dumbfounded England were absolutely outplayed. England had posted 166-4 after being put in by Kane Williamson.

Conceding that New Zealand outplayed the English side, Morgan said, "Coming into the game we knew both sides were close in skill. Full credit to Kane and his team. They outplayed us today. Have represented ourselves in this tournament really well. Proud of the guys. They have given everything in this tournament.”

Earlier, Moeen Ali smashed an unbeaten 51 to guide England to 166 for four against New Zealand. He came in at a time when England had lost their openers including Jos Buttler for 29, lbw off Ish Sodhi, after being invited to bat first. His 63 runs partnership with Dawid Malan (41) for the third wicket proved vital for the team to set a challenging target. (UNI)