Sunday, 14/07/2019, witnessed two all time greatest finals of two sports which find their origin from England. Ironically, the matches took place in England only, just few miles from each other. Mistakes in sports are unforgivable. Roger Federer and New Zealand learnt it the hard way.
For Roger Federer, it ended in a heartbreak. The 20-time Grand Slam champion finished second best in the Wimbledon 2019 men’s singles final that went to the fifth-set tie break on Sunday. Novak Djokovic held his nerves, became the first player to win the final after saving a match points since 1948. The Serb won the final 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 13-12 (3) to clinch his 15th Grand Slam title.
On the other hand, New Zeland leant cricket is a game of fine margins the hard way by finising as runners-up in the Cricket World Cup final after a tied Super Over at Lord’s on Sunday.
The World Cup 2019 final became the first-ever ODI match in history to go into the Super Over and England became the world champions in men’s cricket for the 1st time after a dramatic Super Over finish. Both teams finished with 15 runs each in the Super Over but England were declared winners due to more number of boundaries scored in the match and the Super Over.
The tensions were evident at both Lord’s Cricket Ground and Wimbledon as the two epic finals went down to the wire. Wimbledon tweeted ICC and asked how the things are at their end.
England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler ran out Martin Guptill off the last ball of the Super Over as the New Zealand opener scrambled back for a second run that would have earned the Black Caps also their first world title.
Both teams scored 241 after the regulation 50 overs per side, with England hitting 14 off the last over – including a six made up of two runs followed by an accidental four deflected off the bat of the diving Ben Stokes – to tie New Zealand’s 241-8.
The finals of Wimbledon and Cricket World Cup redefined the finals. They had the most important ingredients which a viewer wants from a final – nail-biting finish. Awesome Sunday for the viewers but a sad one for the losers. Let’s hope we witness more such finals in the coming future.
