The Long Road to Victory: Ben Stokes and England's Four-Year Journey to the World Cup Title

Ben Stokes viewed Sunday's nail-biting triumph over New Zealand in the Cricket World Cup as the payoff for four years of relentless hard work. Having suffered a crushing defeat in the prior tournament, England rose from the ashes to become the world's number one team. The match at Lord's looked lost until Stokes stepped up with an unbeaten 84, forcing a tie with both teams finishing on 241. In the decisive Super Over, Stokes contributed eight runs from three balls, bringing England's total to 15, a mark New Zealand also reached.

England secured the win through the tie-breaker rule, having hit more boundaries throughout the game.

An exhausted Stokes struggled to find the words, stating that the four years of dedication had finally paid off now that they are the champions of the world.

Since Eoin Morgan's squad finished all out at 241—exactly matching New Zealand's 241-8—the championship was decided by a one-over shootout.

During their turn to bat in the shootout, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler managed to scrape 15 runs off the bowling of Trent Boult.

Tasked with defending, Jofra Archer bowled the final over against the duo of Martin Guptill and Jimmy Neesham.

As the game came down to the final ball with two runs needed, Jos Buttler and Jason Roy worked together to run out Guptill on his attempt for a second run.

Because both teams scored 15 in the Super Over, England was declared the winner because they had recorded more boundaries during the match.