Even after his heroics to guide New Zealand into the Twenty20 World Cup final, Blackcaps opener Daryl Mitchell has acknowledged the match-winning hand played by Jimmy Neesham.
Chasing 167 for victory against England in Abu Dhabi, the Blackcaps' run chase was left precariously poised at 13/2 in the opening overs, with both captain Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill failing to fire.
Batting on amid the chaos, Mitchell stood tall, passing 50 for the first time in a T20 international and continuing to score an unbeaten 72 runs from 47 balls.
Mitchell's knock came after a tough start for the 30-year-old, who struggled to find any timing in the early part of his innings, compiling 46 runs from his first 40 balls.
A stand of 82 runs for the third wicket between Mitchell and Devon Conway (46) still left work to be done, as Neesham strode to the crease at 107/5, with the Blackcaps needing 60 runs from 29 balls.
But after his part in New Zealand cricket's greatest heartbreak during the 2019 World Cup final, Neesham laid those demons to rest.
The allrounder launched a brutal assault on England's Chris Jordan, taking 23 runs from one over that changed New Zealand's equation from 57 runs needed in 24 balls to 34 from 18.
The Blackcaps didn't squander that upper hand, sealing victory by five wickets.
Speaking to The AM Show after his man-of-the-match performance, Mitchell had a laugh at Neesham's game-turning heroics.
"He loves being the centre of attention at times, doesn't he?" Mitchell jokes. "The way he came out and cleared the rope, it was a hell of a knock.
"It was exactly what we needed. Words can't describe how special that was."
The Blackcaps will have to wait to learn their opponents for Monday morning's final, with the second semi-final scheduled for Friday.
Either Pakistan or Australia will meet the Blackcaps in the final, although Mitchell has no preference on who he wants to line up against.
"They're both obviously world class teams," he adds. "I actually don't know to be honest, I'm just happy that we're there at the moment.
"We'll watch the game tomorrow night and we'll start planning for either team. Then we'll get really detailed about how we want to go about that final."
"At the moment, we're just enjoying that we got through this one."
Despite dominating major tournaments in recent years, Monday's final will be New Zealand's first in Twenty20 cricket. Victory would see them join India, Pakistan, England, Sri Lanka and the West Indies as World Cup winners in the game's shortest format.
Join Newshub for live updates of the T20 World Cup final from 3am Monday
