Kicking off the chase of 160, Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson bowled brilliantly, taking wickets within the first eight balls for New Zealand. Phil Salt and Jos Buttler got out early, leaving England with just two runs on the board. New Zealand had a great chance to take control during the first six overs. However, captain Harry Brook steadied the chase. He and Jacob Bethell formed an unbeaten 45-run partnership for the third wicket at the end of the mandatory powerplay.

Glenn Phillips made an immediate impact by taking a wicket with his first ball in the match, dismissing Brook for 26, giving New Zealand an important third wicket.

Phillips then produced an amazing catch to dismiss Bethell (21) diving forward. England lost two wickets in two overs and suddenly faced serious trouble as the pressure increased.

Earlier, electing to bat first, New Zealand began their innings strongly. Jofra Archer delivered a solid first over but soon lost his control. Both Finn Allen and Tim Seifert settled in and countered some great bowling from Sam Curran and Liam Dawson.

They put pressure on the English bowlers after the first over yielded no runs. New Zealand scored 54 runs in the next five overs to complete the mandatory batting powerplay.

This was the first time in seven games that the English bowlers did not take a wicket during this period.

Adil Rashid broke the opening partnership of 64 runs with a brave, teasing delivery that drew Tim Seifert (35) out of his crease. With 41 wickets in T20 World Cups under his name, Rashid moved closer to catching the record for most wickets (Shakib Al Hasan) and also moved ahead of Wanindu Hasaranga on the all-time list. Currently, only Adam Zampa (44) and Rashid Khan (43) are ahead of him.

Will Jacks struck in his very first over as Finn Allen (29) holed out in the deep, finding Jacob Bethell to end his stay.

It was a lapse in judgment from Allen, and with that dismissal, both set batters were back in the hut in quick succession, halting New Zealand’s flying start.

After the openers departed, all-rounder Glenn Philips was the lone batter to show some resistance against England’s quality spin and stitched a partnership of 31 runs with Rachin Ravindra (11), who mistimed a pull shot to mid-wicket off Rehan Ahmed. Mark Chapman (15) then added 26 runs with Philips, but soon he too departed as the Kiwis continued to lose wickets.

Will Jacks ended a remarkable performance for England by taking his second wicket of the night. He dismissed Phillips, who scored a solid 39 off 28 balls, as England continued to apply pressure at the end of the innings. With New Zealand losing their sixth wicket, their inning started to fall apart.

The Kiwis' innings never recovered as they lost the last four wickets for just 36 runs, with Rashid, Jacks, and Ahmed picking up two wickets each to reduce New Zealand to 159/7.

All-rounder Sam Curran and Tom Banton then showed resistance with the bat and stitched a partnership of 42 off 35 deliveries.

In his 50th T20I appearance, Ravindra took his second wicket of the match, the important wicket of Sam Curran (24), to give New Zealand more control. Bowling from slightly back of a length, Ravindra tempted Curran to hit the ball in the air. After a great game against Sri Lanka, Ravindra once again shone under the lights against England.

With two sharp catches, a wicket of his own, and the top score for the Black Caps, Phillips showed he was the X-factor as New Zealand moved closer to victory.

With 43 required off 18, Philips got the belt treatment as he was smashed for two maximums and as many boundaries and went for 22 runs. Santner, bowling the penultimate over, was smashed for a boundary on the first delivery by Rehan Ahmed and a maximum on the last delivery for 16 runs over.

Henry, bowling the last over, could not defend much as England defeated the Kiwis by four wickets and three balls remaining.

With 43 required off 18, Philips got the belt treatment as he was smashed for two maximums and as many boundaries and went for 22 runs. Santner, bowling the penultimate over, was smashed for a boundary on the first delivery by Rehan Ahmed and a maximum on the last delivery for 16 runs over.

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New Zealand 159/7 in 20 overs (Glenn Philips 39, Tim Seifert 35; Will Jacks 2-23, Adil Rashid 2-28) lost to England 161/6 in 19.3 overs (Tom Banton 33, Harry Brook 26; Rachin Ravindra 3-19, Lockie Ferguson 1-14) by four wickets.

Article Source: IANS