England emerge triumphant in a rain-curtailed power-hitting battle to go 2-0 up in the T20I series against New Zealand
The Heather-Knight-led side clinched a comprehensive 59-run victory in the 1st T20I. The veteran England opening batter Danielle Wyatt was at her destructive best, scoring a blazing half-century. She was awarded the Player of the Match for her match-winning performance (76 off 51 balls) with the bat to give England an early lead in the five-match T20I series.
The toss was delayed in the 2nd T20I courtesy of a steady downpour that refused to allow any sort of action to happen. It was eventually a curtailed encounter and the game was ultimately reduced to nine overs per side contest. New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine won the toss and opted to field first. After being inserted to bat first, the England batters came out all guns blazing, opening batter Danielle Wyatt was dismissed for a three-ball duck in the 2nd over of the innings. Hannah Rowe provided the first breakthrough for New Zealand.
Alice Capsey joined Maia Bouchier at the crease and the duo stitched a 17-run partnership for the 2nd wicket, providing a little bit of impetus to the innings. Lea Tahuhu picked up the wicket of Maia Bouchier to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Nat Sciver-Brunt joined Alice Capsey at the crease and the duo continued to build on the momentum provided by Maia Bouchier. The pair stitched a crucial 20-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side past the 50-run mark. Lea Tahuhu came back and cleaned up Nat Sciver-Brunt to provide the 3rd breakthrough for New Zealand.
Skipper Heather Knight joined Alice Capsey at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 23-run partnership for the 4th wicket, taking their side to a strong position. Leigh Kasperek picked up the wicket of Alice Capsey to provide the much-needed breakthrough for her side. England eventually ended up with a total of 89/6 in their quota of nine overs. Alice Capsey (28 off 15 balls), Maia Bouchier (23 off 15 balls), skipper Heather Knight (15 off 8 balls), and Nat Sciver-Brunt (11 off 7 balls) were the top performers with the bat for England.
Lea Tahuhu (2-0-20-2), Amelia Kerr (2-0-21-2), Hannah Rowe (1-0-7-1), and Leigh Kasperek (1-0-11-1) were the top performers with the ball for New Zealand. Chasing a stiff target of 90, New Zealand got off to a poor start as they lost one of their most experienced players in skipper Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr inside the three-over powerplay in the run chase.
Brooke Halliday joined Suzie Bates at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 16-run partnership for the 3rd wicket, staging some sort of recovery in the New Zealand innings. Charlie Dean struck twice in the 5th over of the run chase. The rains arrived again with the visitors, New Zealand at a score of 42/5 in the 7th over of the run chase, the White Ferns were 24 runs behind the DLS par score. Unfortunately, there was no further play possible and as a result, England clinched the 2nd T20I by 23 runs.
Brooke Halliday (14 off 9 balls), wicket-keeper batter Isabella Gaze (8 off 6 balls), and skipper Sophie Devine (9 off 9 balls) were the top performers with the bat for New Zealand. Charlie Dean (1-0-3-2), Nat Sciver-Brunt (2-0-10-1), Lauren Bell (1-0-6-1), and Sophie Ecclestone (2-0-17-1) were the top performers with the ball for England.
Charlie Dean was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant spell (1-0-3-2) with the ball. She played a crucial role in helping England go 2-0 up in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand.