London, Jul 15 (IANS): England became the World Cup champions for the first time in cricket history after defeating New Zealand in a pulsating final which ended in a nail-biting Super Over at Lord's.
On Sunday, the Black Caps needed two to win from the final ball but a superb throw from Jason Roy in the deep saw Martin Guptill agonizingly run out, as Kane Williamson's side finished runners-up for the second successive World Cup. The result of the game was decided on the boundary count in which the Three Lions beat the Kiwis.
After the nail-biting summit clash, sports fraternity congratulated both the teams for their efforts and dubbed the match as the "best white-ball game of all time".
"That's the best white ball game of all time! ENGLAND ARE WORLD CUP CHAMPIONS!!" tweeted England pacer Stuart Broad.
"A game that ebbed and flowed from the 1st ball to the 612th! Feel for New Zealand who did everything that England did and still fell short. Congratulations to England," said legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.
"What an amazing match of cricket. Nail biting stuff at an iconic venue. This game will go down as one of the best matches in history.
"Congratulations to England on your maiden World Cup title. Never be down New Zealand, you fought like champions," said Sir Vivian Richards.
"That's the best game I've ever seen and the last hour was the worst and most nervous I've ever felt. WHAT A WIN!!!!! England officially World Cup champions, I feel like crying/singing/dancing/hugging/screaming all at once!!!!" said former England skipper Eoin Morgan.
"Neither team deserved to lose that... What a day for cricket… That is how it inspire a new generation of cricketers...," tweeted former England captain Michael Vaughan.
"What a contest! Best ever final by a mile. NZ a dive and a leap away from WC glory and England absolutely super in super over and super lucky as well. Ricochet/overthrow overthrew NZ. Couldn't the Cup been shared!" tweeted cricketer-turned-commentator Ramiz Raza.
"Gonna struggle to sleep after today's sporting events! What a weekend. Congrats Eoin Morgan and England, fairytale finish at Lord's," said former South Africa batter AB de Villiers.
"Congratulations to England on winning the Cricket World Cup. New Zealand were outstanding and never gave up, that deflection over-throw of Stokes being a huge turning point, tragic for New Zealand, so near yet so far but they must be very proud," tweeted former Indian opener Virender Sehwag.
"What a FINAL... feel bad for New Zealand well done England. Have no words," said former Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardane.
"OH MY GOD! What a match for a World Cup Final. This is as good as a trophy shared. Match tied, super over tied, England wins on more boundaries hit. Wow. Great scenes at Lords," said former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar.