England took control of the three-match Twenty20 series against New Zealand with a comprehensive 65-run victory at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval last night.
A captain’s knock of 78 off 35 balls from Harry Brook and 85 off 56 balls from opener Phil Salt laid the foundation for England’s 246-4, a record T20I score at the venue.
In reply, the Black Caps were dismissed for 171 with two overs to spare. Tim Seifert was New Zealand’s best, with 39 from 29 balls. Captain Mitchell Santner made a quickfire 39 from 15 deliveries, including hitting 23 runs from Liam Dawson’s final over.
Spinner Adil Rashid, who finished with figures of 4-32, did most of the damage for England.
The result brought to an end a miserable couple of nights for New Zealand, who saw their first game at Hagley Oval on Saturday night rained off after England were restricted to 136-6 at the halfway point.
It means England cannot lose the series – the final game is at Eden Park tomorrow night. Rain showers are again expected.
New Zealand lost their recent Twenty20 series 2-0 to Australia.
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The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including a massive outage breaks the internet, weather warnings and watched in force, more allegations levelled against Prince Andrew. (Source: 1News)
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