New Zealand who was seen out of the box, now shows an impactful performance in the 3rd T20 as they defeated England by 74 runs. NZ scored 202/5 in 20 overs and England only managed 128/10 in 18.3 overs.
It was their first victory in the series. They lost the 1st match by 7 wickets while the 2nd match was also won by the home team by 95 runs. With the win, the series is now 2-1.
Tim Southee after winning the toss opted to bat first.
England struck earlier as they took the wicket of Devon Conway (9 runs) in the 4th over. Finn Allen (83 runs) and Glenn Phillips (69 runs) just changed the momentum to their side. Both of them striking well and got a partnership of 88 runs of the 3rd wicket. Both of them looked destructive with their innings, especially Phillips who hit 5 fours and 5 sixes. Allen hit 4 fours and 6 sixes.
Their innings helped them to post 202 runs in 20 overs with the loss of 5 wickets.
Gus Atkinson took 2 wickets while Luke Wood and Liam Livingstone got 1 wicket each.
England for the first time was not looking in the show at all. They failed to build a partnership which ultimately cost them the match. Jos Butler (40 runs) tried to chase it down but he didn’t get any proper support from the other end. Moeen Ali (26 runs) somehow managed to put runs on the board but he couldn’t convert his innings into a big one.
With the fall of wickets at regular intervals they couldn’t survive much longer and they got all out in 18.3 overs after scoring 128 runs on the board.
Kyle Jamieson and Ish Sodhi took 3 wickets. Whereas Tim Southee got 2 wickets. Matt Henry and Mitchell Santner got 1 wicket each.
Finn Allen, New Zealand, Player of the Match
“The way they started with the ball, it was tough for us to get away. But we batted through the middle and were able to take it deep. Nice to get a good performance away and get a win for the team. Have been working on holding my shape a bit more and having a method. I didn’t really know what a good score would be, I just wanted to react and play my shots.”
Jos Butler, England Captain
“Credit to New Zealand, they really outplayed us. Good toss to win and we let them get away with too many. Good partnership between Allen and Phillps, they took the game away from us. Need a fast start chasing that score, they bowled well and we couldn’t get any partnerships. Didn’t use Moeen with two right-handers out there, it was a hard match up for him. Probably need to find a way to get him into the game a bit more. Happy for Gus Atkinson, he’s settling into the team nicely.”
Tim Southee, New Zealand Captain
“We asked to be better in all three areas and we played in a style expected of us. We weren’t able to get partnerships earlier but today was great with Phillips and Allen. We bowled okay in the powerplay, important to start well and we got a few wickets. We’re going to rotate our pace bowlers with the nature of the series. Quick turnaround but nice to see them coming in and performing straightaway.”