A stunning bowling effort in the death overs helps New Zealand beat England by 14 runs in the 3rd T20I played at Saxton Oval, Nelson on Tuesday.
New Zealand captain Tim Southee won the toss and decided to bat first. Martin Guptill took on the England bowlers with positive stroke play and did not allow them to settle. Pat Brown got breakthrough for England as he dismissed the dangerous Guptill for 33 off 17 balls. Tom Curran struck immediately in the next over to get the other opener Munro. New Zealand scored 52 for 2 at the end of 6 overs.
Colin de Grandhomme showed his aggressive intent and made life tough for the visitors. On the other hand, Tim Seifert was bowled by debutant Parkison for 7. De Grandhomme and Ross Taylor steadied the innings for New Zealand. De Grandhomme was explosive with his hitting to reach his fifty off just 27 balls. As things looked good for New Zealand, Tom Curran got the dangerous de Grandhomme for 55. Grandhomme and Taylor added 66 runs for the 4th wicket. James Neesham came to the crease and played a quickfire cameo scoring 20 off 15 balls. Mitchell Santer contributed 15 off 9 balls which helped New Zealand post 180 for 7 in 20 overs. For England, Tom Curran took 2 for 29 while Sam Curran, Saqib Mahmood, Pat Brown and Parkison took 1 wicket each.
Chasing 181 runs to win, the debutant Tom Banton and David Malan got the team off to flying start putting pressure on New Zealand. Tickner got the breakthrough for New Zealand getting the wicket of Banton for 18. Banton and Malan added 27 runs in 2.5 overs. James Vince came to the crease and took time to settle. Malan played with positive intent and created pressure on New Zealand bowlers. At the end of 6 overs, England were 46 for 1.
After the power play overs, Malan and Vince continued to make the batting look easy with aggressive hitting from both batsmen. Malan reached his fifty off 29 balls. Ish Sodhi got big breakthrough for New Zealand getting the well-set Malan for 55. Malan and Vince added 63 runs for the 2nd wicket.
Eoin Morgan came to the crease and continued keep the scorecard ticking along with James Vince. As things looked under control for England, Mitchell Santer got big wicket of Morgan for 18. Morgan and Vince added 49 runs for the 3rd wicket. With 39 runs required off last 4 overs, Sam Billings was brilliantly run out by Colin Munro which resulted in a collapse. England lost their last 5 wickets for 10 runs in 18 balls to give New Zealand a stunning 14 run win.
New Zealand 180 for 7 in 20 overs (Colin de Grandhomme 55, Martin Guptill 33, Tom Curran 2/29) beat England 166 for 7 in 20 overs (David Malan 55, James Vince 49, Lockie Ferguson 2/25, Tickner 2/25) by 14 runs.
New Zealand takes a 2-1 lead in the 5 match T20I series. The fourth match will be played at Mclean Park, Napier on 8th November.
