Jos Buttler and Alex Hales both scored fifties to help England defeat New Zealand at the Gabba in Brisbane on Tuesday.Â
The toss was won by England and decided to bat first.
England defeated New Zealand by 20 runs in the Super 12s to maintain their T20 World Cup ambitions. Buttler, Hales, Woakes, and Sam Curran rose to the occasion to give England the victory they sorely needed.
England defeated New Zealand (159 for 6) (Phillips 62, Curran 2-26) with a total of 179 for 6 (Buttler 73, Hales 52, Ferguson 2-45).
England’s captain Jos Buttler earlier performed a brilliant 73-run knock to lead his team to 179/6 against New Zealand in their crucial T20 World Cup match.
Seven boundaries and two sixes helped Buttler race to 73 off 47 balls. Along with the captain, opener Alex Hales (52 off 40) also made a commendable half-century. Lockie Ferguson took two wickets for New Zealand.
After Mark Wood dismisses Neesham for 6, Kane Williamson is out for a run-a-ball 40, and the momentum for New Zealand has stalled. Neesham is rushed by Wood’s quickness, and he is unable to control the stroke. From 26 balls, New Zealand must score 54 runs. They still need six wickets.
New Zealand had kept Santner back until the fourth over in the hopes of getting an early wicket because to Boult’s incredible swing. Adil Rashid was called up after Kane Williamson left the field and the first wicket fell.
Williamson has scored six boundaries in 157 T20 balls against spin this year, making it the first occasion since November 2021 that both Moeen and Rashid bowled with fielding limitations in place.
But the mortality by confrontations just got worse. In the fourth over, Sam Curran faced off against Finn Allen, New Zealand’s most likely target for a Buttler-style blitz. It just took four balls on this particular night for the strategy to succeed; the opener has fallen to that kind of bowling once every 11 balls.
However, England handled what transpired in Abu Dhabi’s frantic final three overs like the anomaly that it was rather than the model New Zealand appeared to approach it as.
Buttler sets up England
Jos Buttler, the captain of England, was named the game’s top performer with 73 points.
impressive showing over unbeaten New Zealand. Both England’s bowling and batting were excellent.
Although it appeared that New Zealand would be able to chase the target but England won because of some outstanding bowling from Wood, Woakes, and Curran in the last overs.
Hales scored the majority of the 81 runs that the England openers put up as a stand. When Hales was caught behind by Devon Conway off Mitchell Santner’s bowling for a well-made 52 from 40 deliveries, the partnership was broken.
Buttler’s audacity in moving over his stumps and playing the ramp shot is a sign of his excellence. Buttler stated at the toss that we didn’t dwell too much on our previous terrible performance because we have excellent players in both the playing XI and the squad, and our confidence was evident tonight.
Brilliant bowling from Sam Curran
The 24-year-old followed with another outstanding spell. Curran bowled two overs in the beginning and two more in the closing stages, and he was equally effective in both.
The left-arm bowler took the crucial wicket of Finn Allen during the powerplay and then returned in the final over to get rid of Glenn Phillips, who was posing a threat to win the match for England. Curran’s final pitch had outstanding stats of 4-0-26-2.
Glenn Phillips loses despite Heroic effort
Glenn Phillips 62 off 36 deliveries for the Black Caps was in vain, and Moeen Ali exhaled a sigh of relief after dropping the in-form batsman at cover when he shelled an absolute dolly off Adil Rashid’s bowling.
The middle-order batsman, who saved New Zealand from defeat against Sri Lanka with a stunning century, seems ready to do the same against England. Early in their innings, New Zealand lost their first two wickets, but Phillips came in and quickly established his dominance with some spectacular strokes.
In his 91-run partnership with Williamson, he took the initiative and batted till the 18th over to help the Kiwis come as close to the mark as they could.
However, he ultimately was killed when attempting to clear the straight boundary off Curran’s bowling after scoring an amazing 62 from 36 deliveries. After his dismissal, New Zealand’s innings stalled and they missed their target by 20 runs.
What’s Next
With this victory, England has officially knocked Australia out of second place in Group 1 due to a higher NRR.
However, New Zealand continues to lead the group because its NRR of +2.233 is far higher than those of England and Australia.
England will face Sri Lanka in Sydney on Saturday and New Zealand will be playing with Ireland in Adelaide on Friday.
