After a 7-wicket drubbing in the first T20I, the New Zealand Cricket Team came back strongly to beat England by 21 runs to level the series in 2nd T20I match played at Westpac Stadium, Wellington on Sunday.
England captain Eoin Morgan won the toss and decided to field first. New Zealand openers Martin Guptill and Colin Munro made a quickfire start against England new ball bowlers. Sam Curran got the breakthrough for England getting wicket of Colin Munro for 7. New Zealand openers added 23 runs in 2.4 overs. Guptill looked confident with his stroke play and took on England bowlers. At the end of 6 overs, New Zealand were 53 for 1.
After the power play overs, Guptill played a bad stroke which went straight into the hands of James Vince for 41. Colin de Grandhomme coming at number 4 created pressure on England bowlers with big shots. Guptill and de Grandhomme went in quick succession to leave New Zealand at 96 for 4. James Neesham came to the crease and played a cameo knock scoring 42 off 22 balls with 3 fours and 4 sixes. Chris Jordan was superb in his last 2 overs nailing the Yorkers making life tough for the hosts. Jordan got the wicket of Neesham off the last ball. New Zealand posted 176 for 8 in 20 overs.
Chasing 177 runs to win, it was not an ideal start for England as Jonny Bairstow and James Vince were dismissed in the first two overs. Eoin Morgan came to the crease and looked positive intent with his intent with big sixes. As things looked dangerous, Mitchell Santer dismissed the dangerous Eoin Morgan for 32 off 17 balls. At the end of 6 overs, England were 41 for 3. Morgan and Malan added 37 runs for the 3rd wicket.
David Malan showed some promise with his hitting power. The hosts bowlers kept picking wickets at regular intervals and made England struggle. Chris Jordan came to the crease and kept England hopes alive of winning the match taking 24 runs from Ish Sodhi over. Jordan and Lewis Gregory added 41 runs for the 7th wicket. With 23 runs required off the final, Mitchell completed the job and helped New Zealand win the match by 21 runs.
New Zealand 176 for 8 in 20 overs (Martin Guptill 41, James Neesham 42, Chris Jordan 3/23, Sam Curran 2/22) beat England 155 in 19.5 overs ( David Malan 39, Chris Jordan 36, Mitchell Santer 3/25) by 21 runs.
New Zealand level the 5 match T20I at 1-1. The third match of the series will be played at Saxton Oval, Nelson on 5th November.
