If you are a sports fan then you will agree that Sunday night was probably the richest sports day you have ever experienced. It was a tough toss-up between the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final and also the Men’s Singles Final at Wimbledon. Interestingly, England also hosted the Formula 1 British Grand Prix on Sunday evening, which Lewis Hamilton won, but it was overshadowed by the tennis and cricket!
Tweet:
A kiss goodnight 😘🏆#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/nw3aE8inMr
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 14, 2019
Federer vs Djokovic: The Longest Wimbledon final
Roger Federer looked all set to win his 21st Grand Slam title, but Novak Djokovic stood between him and his 9th Wimbledon title. The match went on for 4 hours and 57 mins and was just like a heavyweight boxing bout. Federer and Nadal slugged it out to the bitter end without giving in. The 5 set encounter was the longest ever at Wimbledon with the final set stretching for over 2 hours. Djokovic saved two match points to beat the eight-time champion in an epic final, 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-6(4), 4-6, 13-12(3), the first fifth-set tie-break in Wimbledon singles history. This was Djokovic’s 16th Grand Slam title and he is 4 behind Roger Federer’s record of 20.
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Beautiful scenes 😍
England lifted their maiden #CWC19 trophy at the Home of Cricket after an exhilarating encounter against New Zealand. This video shows how much it meant to them!#WeAreEngland pic.twitter.com/JLwSj9CPaa
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) July 15, 2019
ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup: England vs New Zealand
Just about the same time, 12 miles away, England and New Zealand were battling it out in the final of the Cricket World Cup. Chasing 242 to win, England were set for a commanding win. New Zealand fought back and picked up crucial wickets, much to the horror of the local fans in the stands at the Lord’s. Ben Stokes stood out for the hosts as he took his team to the finish line, but the match ended with a tied score with 241 each after 50 overs. They had to play a Super Over to help decide the winner. In a Super Over, both teams get a chance to bat once again for 6 deliveries. They each have to nominate 3 Batsmen & 1 bowler. Once again both scored 15 in the Super-Over shootout! Finally, England won thanks to hitting more boundaries in their 50 overs.
It is England’s first-ever Cricket World Cup and follows final defeats in 1979, 1987 and 1992.
It was a brutal way to decide the outcome of a World Cup final which saw both teams scoring the same number of runs twice. Better luck to New Zealand next time.
Written by: Yash Chawla. Yash is former Anchor of NDTV with over 9 years of experience as a sports journalist.
