The finalists’ story so far

England and New Zealand have both had to ride out the storm to make this year’s World Cup Final. It has been far from smooth sailing for either side, but in the end it is Kane Williamson and Eoin Morgan’s side who have emerged on top, and deservedly so.

No one can complain that the two best teams in the tournament are not in Sunday’s showpiece at Lord’s. After contrasting group stages, they have peaked at the right time and are one win away from a maiden crown.

England kicked things off six weeks ago at the Oval by downing South Africa in impressive style. Jofra Archer caught the eye with the ball while Jason Roy, Joe Root and Eoin Morgan all made half centuries with the bat.

But there was no doubting the star of the show, Ben Stokes setting the tournament alight with a stunning catch, 89 with the bat and two wickets with the ball.

Next up, England travelled to Trent Bridge to take on Pakistan but their bright start came unstuck in a dramatic 14-run defeat.

Joe Root and Jos Buttler both struck centuries for the hosts but a Pakistan held on to secure a famous victory. England did not appear rattled however, a crunching 106-run win over Bangladesh in Cardiff settling the nerves.

Roy continued his super form by crashing 153 and England ended up posting a then tournament-high 386 for six that proved beyond the fighting Tigers. Next up for England, their roadshow took them to the Hampshire Bowl to take on a fired-up West Indies.

Archer and Mark Wood bowled the Caribbean outfit out for 212 and Root struck his second ton of the tournament to see England home with eight wickets to spare.

The bad news for England were the injuries sustained by Roy and skipper Morgan that prevented either from batting. But while Roy’s troublesome hamstring kept him on the sidelines, Morgan’s back spasm was soon a thing of the past as the captain produced the fireworks in their next game at Old Trafford.

The captain smashed an astonishing 17 sixes in his century and England broke their own highest total of the World Cup by posting 397 for 6 that proved way beyond Afghanistan.

The hosts appeared to be making serene progress through to the knockout stages, but in Leeds Sri Lanka sprung a serious surprise.

England’s chase of 233 proved beyond them as Lasith Malinga rolled back the years to knock over the top order. While Stokes did his best, they ended up 20 runs short.

That was their wake-up call, but England did not rouse from their slumber at Lord’s four days later as Australia gave them a beating at the home of cricket.

Mitchell Starc and Jason Behrendorff did the damage with the ball and England again fell short in a chase and suddenly the No.1 side in the world were in danger of being dumped out of their own party.

But with their backs to the wall, England came out swinging.

India were unbeaten but with Roy back in tandem, Jonny Bairstow produced his best knock of the tournament with a century as England set 337 for seven.

Rohit Sharma produced another ton as was becoming customary at this World Cup, but India fell just short and England were still alive.

Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were all waiting to pounce if England gave them a sniff, and their last game was in Durham against New Zealand. But when they needed to produce their best, they went back to their aggressive best.

Bairstow cracked another century as England won the toss and posted another 300-plus total, their sixth of the group stages.

The Black Caps fell short, but still went through the semifinals courtesy of their net run rate.

They had their fast start to the competition to thank for their passage through the knockout rounds.

They smashed Sri Lanka by ten wickets in their tournament opener in Cardiff, then edged out Bangladesh at the Oval. Afghanistan were sent packing by seven wickets at Taunton to maintain their perfect start before their India game at Trent Bridge fell victim to the weather -- a precursor for their rain-affected semi-final.

Their group stage progress continued serenely, Kane Williamson’s stunning century carrying them to a four-wicket win over South Africa at Edgbaston.

Williamson scored a century again as New Zealand posted 291/8 against the West Indies at Old Trafford.

That looked like being enough when Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson ran through the top order but Carlos Brathwaite smashed a late century to get the Caribbean close.

But his attempt at a match-winning six fell just a metre short, Boult claiming the catch on the rope to keep the Black Caps unbeaten and good value for the knockout rounds.But no sooner did they look well-set than the wheels started to come off.

Babar Azam’s superb century helped Pakistan to a six-wicket win at Edgbaston and then at Lord’s, their trans-Tasman rivals Australia taught them a lesson in an 86-run win.

They were also beaten by England and went into knockout rounds on a three-match losing streak.

But they turned the tables on India in an enthralling rain-affected two-day semifinal at Old Trafford.

On a tricky pitch, Williamson and Ross Taylor hit vital half centuries and when Matt Henry and Boult ran through the Indian top order, a surprise was very much on the cards.

MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja did their best to get India close but Martin Guptill’s sensational run out saw off Dhoni and the Black Caps finished off the job for an 18-run win.

Then at Edgbaston, England saved their best performance for last, beating Australia by eight wickets to hand their old rivals a first-ever World Cup semi-final defeat.

Archer and Chris Woakes did the damage before Adil Rashid tied up the middle order. Only Steve Smith’s 85 that got them to a total of 223.

And when Roy and Bairstow started like trains once again, victory was always going to be theirs.

FACTS

England’s Joe Root has scored 925 runs -- most by any English batsmen -- in the 20 matches he played against New Zealand.

England opener Jonny Bairstow has score the most number of hundreds by an English batsmen against New Zealand. He smashed a total of three centuries against the Kiwis so far.

New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor has amassed 1409 runs -- most by any players among the two sides -- in the 34 matches he played against England.

Kiwi opener Martin Guptill’s unbeaten 189 that came against England back in 2013 in Southampton remains the highest individual score by any batsmen among the two sides while playing against each other.

England pacer Chris Woakes has scalped 19 wickets -- most by any current English bowlers -- in the 12 matches he played against New Zealand. 

Kiwi pacer Tim Southee has scalped 36 wickets -- most by any bowlers among the two sides’ current World Cup squads -- in the 21 matches he played against England.