AUSTRALIA: With an impressive all-round performance, England managed to beat New Zealand by 20 runs in the T20 World Cup match. After this win, England has successfully acquired the second position in its group. If the English side wins the next match against SL, then they are likely to secure a place in the T20 World Cup semi-final.
Earlier, England won the toss and chose to bat first.
England innings
Jos Butler and Alex Hales opened the innings for England (ENG). Hales was timing the ball very nicely, and ENG scored 48 runs in the powerplay with a blend of caution and aggression.
Butler and Hales soon made a 50-run partnership. At the end of the 10th over, ENG was 77 without any loss.
However, Santner dismissed Hales (52) in the very next over. Soon after the wicket, ENG reached the 100-run mark only in 12.4 overs, and Butler was looking in top form.
At the end of the 15th over, ENG was 125-2. With 8 wickets in hand, they expected to score a high total.
Butler was looking more and more dangerous in the final 5 overs, and Livingston was also playing some aggressive shots. After the completion of 17 overs, ENG was 148-2.
ENG had many wickets in hand, but in their desperate efforts to hit big boundaries, ENG lost wickets in heaps.
At the end of the 19th over, ENG was 163-5. Butler also got run out in the same over before making a fantastic 72.
In the final over, the English team gathered 16 runs and set a total of 179 for NZ to chase.
New Zealand innings
Devon Conway and Fin Allen opened the Innings for NZ. NZ was not looking comfortable in the first over and struggled to time the ball, and in the 2nd over of the Innings, Conway lost his wicket.
NZ lost another wicket in the 5th over, and now they were in big trouble. They managed to score 40 runs at the end of the power play.
Now, Glen Phillips and Kane Williamson had a job to do. With these two in the crease, NZ was 66-2 after the halfway stage of the game. NZ needed
114 runs in 10 overs from here.
Both took risky runs, and Phillips hit some stunning shots to complete his half-century and take NZ to 113-2 at the end of the 14th over.
When things were looking better for NZ, Stokes dismissed Willamson (40) before the end of the 15th over. The last 5 overs demanded 57 runs from NZ.
In the 18th over, NZ lost their key Batsman Phillips (62), and it was tough for NZ to win from here because they needed 40 runs from 12 balls and had lost 6 wickets.
In the end, NZ could not chase the target, and ENG won the game by 20 runs.
Woakes and Curran took 2 wickets each, while, Livingstone and Stokes shared 1 wicket each from ENG.
Also Read: Conway, Allen Helps New Zealand Defeat Australia By 89 Runs
