T20 World Cup: Daryl Mitchell's scintillating knock reminds ex-New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull of MS Dhoni

New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell smashed an unbeaten 72 off 47 balls, guiding his side to reach the final of ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 after defeating England by five wickets in the semi-final. New Zealand chased down their target of 167 with an over to spare on a slow track at Abu Dhabi's Zayed Cricket Stadium.

Put into to bat first, England posted a competitive target and even controlled the game with the ball as while chasing the target, New Zealand were off to a shaky start and were in trouble at 13-2 and 107-4. However, Mitchell's unbeaten knock and Jimmy Neesham's blistering cameo (11-ball 27) turned the tables around. Mitchell then finished the game with a boundary.

The way Mitchell played, reminded former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull of ex-Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is called one of thebest finishers in the limited-overs format - the memorable remained the final of 2011 World Cup when he finished the game for India with a sixer.

During the commentary, Doull on air said, "The great MS Dhoni, the great finisher once said to me that the longer you bat the deeper you take the game, the more worried is the opposition and its bowlers."

"That is what Daryl Mitchell has done here tonight. He saw the first two New Zealand wickets go down cheaply but ensured he batted through, and here is taking his team closer to a place in the final," Doull added.

For his match-defining innings, Mitchell won the Player of the Match award. "It was a bit of a whirl at the end there. I couldn't remember what was going on, but I'm happy I got the job done. It was a challenging surface, with the new ball, and it was two-paced," said Mitchell.

"The way Conway set the platform and Neesh hit a few out of the ground was amazing. We knew one or two good overs would do it, and we got the momentum back thanks to Neesham's hitting," he added.