Twitter Reactions: Clinical England brush aside New Zealand to take a 1-0 lead
New Zealand didn't seem to be at home in this game in the absence of Kane Williamson and Trent Boult.
England’s build-up to the T20 World Cup 2020 started off in a fine fashion. A new-look English side renewed this new-age rivalry with yet another win as the Kiwis were completely outdone in this first of five-match T20I series. Eoin Morgan chose to bowl first at the Hagley Oval and his bowlers responded well. Then, James Vince took over in the chase and played a classy knock to guide his team home.
Both Martin Guptill and Colin Munro were troubled by the tight lines and lengths early on. Guptill walked backed for 2 runs after chopping one back on off Sam Curran’s bowling. Munro too couldn’t find the momentum and perished after crawling his way to a 20-ball 21. In the absence of Kane Williamson, Tim Seifert took the number three position. He anchored the innings and mustered 32 runs before getting out.
While the Kiwis didn’t seem to be heading towards a big score, Ross Taylor and Daryl Mitchell came to the rescue towards the end. While the former scored 44 off 35 balls, the latter remained unbeaten on 30 off 17. Thus, the hosts managed to get to 153/5 in 20 overs. Chris Jordan, even though expensive at the death, did a fine job and picked up two wickets.
James Vince registers a classy maiden T20I fifty
Just like the England bowlers, the Kiwi bowlers bowled tight two overs at the start. However, an 18-run over to follow from Scott Kuggeleijn shifted the momentum. Even though they lost Dawid Malan early, England was always in control of this chase. Jonny Bairstow and James Vince stitched together a beautiful partnership to put their team in command. The wicket-keeper scored 35 runs off 28 balls before he holed out to Guptill at deep midwicket off the bowling of Mitchell Santner.
Once Bairstow fell, James Vince took complete control and played some extravagant shots. He took the pressure off Eoin Morgan at the other end and narrowed the margin down. After racing his way to 59 from 38 balls, he fell to Santner. However, he did a good job by then. Eoin Morgan and Sam Billings ensured that no wickets fell further, took their time and finished the chase with nine balls to spare.
Here is how Twitterati reacted:
Download Our App