England defeated New Zealand by 7 wickets in the first T20I match played at Hagley Oval, Christchurch on Friday.
England captain Eoin Morgan won the toss and decided to field first. The decision paid off as Sam Curran got the early breakthrough dismissing the dangerous Martin Guptill for just 2. Colin Munro played with positive intent putting pressure on England bowlers. At the stroke of power play over, Chris Jordan dismissed him with an easy catch from Eoin Morgan. New Zealand scored 39 for 2 at the end of 6 overs.
Tim Seifert and Colin de Grandhomme took some time to settle taking singles and hitting boundaries. As things looked good for New Zealand, Adil Rashid struck getting the wicket of Colin de Grandhomme for 19. Both added 33 runs for the 3rd wicket. Darly Mitchell came to the crease and attacked the England bowlers with good intent. Both added 56 runs for the 5th wicket. Pat Brown, Chris Jordan bowled with control and did not allow New Zealand score runs with ease. New Zealand posted 153 for 5 in 20 overs.
Chasing 154 runs to win, Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow started cautiously in the first two overs. After the first two overs, Bairstow took the attack to New Zealand bowlers. Mitchell Santer got the breakthrough for the hosts as he dismissed Malan for 11. At the end of 6 overs, England were 42 for 1.
After the power play overs, James Vince and Jonny Bairstow made the batting look with aggressive intent which made their chase easy. Santer struck again by getting wicket of Jonny Bairstow for 35. Bairstow and Vince added 31 runs for the 2nd wicket. Eoin Morgan came to the crease and continued to take England forward. Vince played with good intent and reached his fifty off 33 balls. Santer struck the third time as he dismissed well set Vince for 59. Eoin Morgan hit the winning runs with a six and helped England chase down the target with 7 wickets and 9 balls to spare.
England 154 for 3 in 18.3 overs (James Vince 59, Jonny Bairstow 35, Mitchell Santer 3/23) beat New Zealand 153 for 5 in 20 overs (Ross Taylor 44, Mitchell 30, Chris Jordan 2/28) by 7 wickets.
For his 59 runs, James Vince was awarded the man of the match. The 2nd T20I match will be played on 3rd November at Westpac Stadium, Wellington.
