Dawid Malan’s classical innings to get the series win for England. They defeated New Zealand by 100 runs to bag the series by 3-1.
England posted 311/9 in 50 overs and in reply Kiwis only scored 211/10 in 38.2 overs.
Blackcaps won the 1st ODI by 8 wickets with the help of Daryl and Conway great centuries. While the 2nd one was won by England by 79 runs with a destructive contribution of Livingstone. Whereas in the 3rd ODI match full domination was shown by the Blue men as they won it by 181 runs and in that Stokes showed no mercy to the bowlers. All the 4 matches were won by the side with full domination.
In this match England won the toss and they opted to bat first.
Dawid Malan (127 runs) the man of the show was looking good from the beginning. He hit his 5th ODI century and also completed his 1000 international ODI runs. Also he hit 14 fours and 3 sixes in his knock. Jos Butler (36 runs) and Liam Livinstone (28 runs) also supported him well from the other end but they weren’t able to convert their innings into a big one.
In the death overs Sam Curran (20 runs) and David Willey (19 runs) some hard hitting in the end got England to 311 runs in 50 overs by losing 9 wickets.
Rachin Ravindra again bowled brilliantly and grabbed 4 wickets. Matt Henry and Daryl Mitchell got 2 wickets each. Kyle Jamieson took 1 wicket.
New Zealand didn’t get a solid partnership and the wickets fell at regular intervals. The uneven performance by the batters left the team losing the match. Rachin Ravindra (61 runs) in the batting department also showed his presence. He was the last man dismissed and hit 3 fours and 4 sixes in his innings. Henry Nicholls (41 runs) tries to put some runs on the board but unfortunately he fails to convert his innings to a big one.
In the end the whole team only managed 211 runs in 38.2 overs and lost all their wickets. Tim Southee didn’t come to bat due to injury during the game.
Dawid Malan, England, Player of the series and Match
“It’s good fun. Especially at the home of cricket. It’s fantastic to score some runs here. Though it was a bit slow. Felt that 300 was a good score at the time. Didn’t know that stat, it’s a great one to have (on reaching 1000 ODI runs). Trying to break into this white ball team. You either have to be a freak or be consistent. I’ve tried to be the second one. Was gutted in the last game. Felt was set for a big score but to get out that way was disappointing. Extremely excited. Dream come true to play for England, let alone the World Cup.”
Tom Latham, New Zealand Captain
“When you’re faced with those challenges (injuries). It’s important for guys to step up. Southee is in good spirits. He’ll be assessed further to see how he is. Fingers crossed. Ravindra was very pleased with the way he went. When you get to the WC, it’s slightly different. Some guys go to Bangladesh tomorrow and some go home for some rest. Great to have him here. Williamson has been hitting balls and progressing with his rehab.”
Jos Butler, England Captain
“We’ve gotten better and better throughout the series. Malan played fantastically everytime he got the opportunity. He read the game very well. Thought it was a very good score. Everyone said the wicket was slow and it was hard work. The spinners bowled brilliantly. They are valuable cricketers with bat and ball. We are well positioned. Exciting time to be a player and look forward to those world events.”