Jimmy Neesham played a late carnage as New Zealand made a swift comeback before Daryl Mitchell took his side over the line against England on Wednesday. Chasing 167 runs, the Kiwis went past the target with one over to spare with Mitchell unbeaten on 72 runs.
As the Black Caps pulled off a nail-biting win, the team members jumped off their seats to celebrate the win and looked extremely joyous. However, Jimmy Neesham remained indifferent and kept sitting on his seat like nothing happened.
Jimmy Neesham , was thinking of quitting the game in 2017 and today playing a match defining innings to help New Zealand qualify for the finals. Never give up is the lesson, Sport is a great teacher #ENGvsNZ https://t.co/z3FIO6IPi2
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) November 10, 2021
Neesham’s cold look while being locked on his seat went viral. Even skipper Kane Williamson didn’t seem jumping here and there but passed a smile from his seat, but fans wondered why the cold look on Jimmy Neesham’s face persisted.
Several fans commented that Neesham cannot get over that horrific night from the 2019 ICC World Cup final at Lord’s. He later even tweeted that the job is yet not over while taking the note of his same cold-look seated picture while his team around him celebrated.
Jimmy Neesham also took a note of the picture and came up with a tweet. He wrote:
“Job finished? I don’t think so.”
Job finished? I don’t think so. https://t.co/uBCLLUuf6B
— Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) November 10, 2021
“He changed the momentum of the game for us” – Kane Williamson on Jimmy Neesham
New Zealand struggled to be at par with the asking rate after losing wickets at regular intervals. The Kiwis needed a big over, with still 57 required off the final four overs.
It was then that Jimmy Neesham produced one of the most impactful innings of his career. He scored 23 runs, including two sixes and a boundary, to bring the equation down to 33 off the last 18 balls. The southpaw continued the onslaught and struck Adil Rashid for a massive six before Daryl Mitchell produced a towering hit as New Zealand went past the target convincingly.
Kane Williamson highlighted the importance of Jimmy Neesham in this Black Caps side during his post-match press conference.
“We’ve seen it all tournament – depending on the surface and what is the short side, the chances come and Jimmy maximized it. We did have wickets in hand and that made the difference. He (Neesham) came out and hit the ball hard. That’s what he does and it was a really, really valuable knock.’He changed the momentum of the game for us. It was a game of really small pieces and you are always trying to win those small moments,” the 31-year-old Kane Williamson said.
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