T20 World Cup 2022, Gr 1, ENG v NZ: Buttler's 73, Curran's crucial 2-26 take England to number 2
ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022, Super 12, Group 1, England vs New Zealand: Jos Buttler's 73, Glenn Phillips' 62 and Sam Curran's 2-26 are top performances as England beat New Zealand in Super 12s game at The Gabba. England move to 2nd spot in points table.
Brief Scores: England 179/6 (Buttler 73, Hales 52, Sodhi 1/23) beat New Zealand 159/6 (Phillips 62, Williamson 40, Curran 2/26) by 20 runs
Player of the Match: Jos Buttler (73 runs in 47 balls)
Super-confident New Zealand who have won two big games against Australia and Sri Lanka besides their one washout game against Afghanistan, locked horns with England who after their washout game against Australia were searching for two vital points. The 12th Group 1 game of the Super 12 stage was held at the Gabba in Brisbane on Tuesday.
England lead by a 13-8 margin over New Zealand in the shortest format of the game.
Struggling Williamson hurt New Zealand in the chase
Chasing 180, New Zealand didn’t start well with the bat but their captain Kane Williamson’s struggle as he scored just 40 runs in 40 deliveries, in the process killing all the momentum, hurt New Zealand in their effort. He needs to get back his lost rhythm quickly.
On the flipside of the coin, England began wildly with a rollicking opening partnership which was mostly managed by Alex Hales as they brought up 81 runs in 10.2. This partnership laid the platform for a good score and allowed the other batters to come and go from the very first ball.
Read More: T20 World Cup 2022, Gr 1, NZ v SL: Phillips 104, Boult 4-13 help New Zealand maintain pole position
Bold England earn two valuable points with commanding victory
England captain Jos Buttler on winning the toss opted to bat first on a track which looked good for a commanding score. Both sides went into this game with an unchanged eleven.
Both England openers went wild from the beginning to build a great platform for the team to manage an opening partnership of 81 runs in 10.2 overs, before New Zealand made a slight comeback to keep them on 125/2 in 15 overs. With fireworks added by some sloppiness in the field by the Blackcaps, England raced away to 179/6 in their allotted 20 overs.
New Zealand didn’t begin well with just 40/2 in the powerplay, before being at 66/2 in 10 overs. While Kane Williamson was struggling for runs, Glenn Phillips was trying his best to keep New Zealand in the game as they reached 123/3 in 15 overs, but some wise bowling from England in the end saw them winning the game by 20 runs.