Sidelights – ICC World T20 | England Vs New Zealand
50 runs, that’s all it was needed for the Kiwis to win a rain hit match, but it was not possible had their captain Brendon McCullum not took the calculation in his mind immediately after the first thunder he saw on the background of the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong. He just backed away when the lightning struck in the background and when his counterpart Chris Broad was in his delivery stride. The next ball was a dot ball and only one more ball needed to consider this as an official match should the rain intervene. New Zealand was just one run behind and McCullum hit the juice full toss offered by Broad, straight over his head to put his team ahead of the D/L method. Two more balls in the next over and rain eventually stopped the match and New Zealand won the match by 9 runs, thanks to rain and smart act by their captain.
ICC World T20 | Group 1 | Match 15 | England Vs New Zealand
Venue: Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong
Toss: New Zealand and elected to field first
Playing XIs:
England: Michael Lumb, Alex Hales, Moeen Ali, Eoin Morgan, Jos Butler, Ravi Bopara, Chris Jordan, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, James Tredwell, Jade Dernbach
New Zealand: Martin Guptil, Kane Williamson, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor, Colin Munro, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Kyle Mills, Mitchell McClenaghan
Mini Scorecard:
England 172/6 – Moeen Ali 36 (23) | Corey Anderson 2/32 (4)
New Zealand 52/1 (5.2) – Kane Williamson 24* (17) | Jade Dernbach 1/13 (2)
Result: New Zealand won by 9 runs (D/L method)
Points: New Zealand 2, England 0
Man of the match: Corey Anderson (New Zealand)
Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pakistan) | Paul Reiffel (Australia) | Rod Tucker (3rd – Australia) | S Ravi (Reserve – India)
Match Referee: Javagal Srinath (India)
How they played the game:
Powerplay: England 55 runs, 1 wicket | New Zealand 52/1 (5.2) match was abandoned due to rain
First 50 runs: England 32 balls | New Zealand 31 balls
50-100 runs: England 37 balls
100-150 runs: England 41 balls
Best Partnership
England 2nd Wicket – 72 runs off 44 balls | Contributors: Moeen Ali 36 (23) and Michael Lumb 30 (21)
New Zealand 1st Wicket – 29 runs off 21 balls | Contributors: Kane Williamson 17* (12) and Martin Guptill 11 (19)
Fours
England – 17 (6 – Moeen Ali | 4 – Michael Lumb, Jos Buttler | 2 – Tim Bresnan | 1 – Eoin Morgan)
New Zealand – 7 ( 4 – Kane Williamson | 2 – Martin Guptill | 1 – Brendon McCullum)
SIXERS
England – 5 (Michael Lumb, Moeen Ali, Ravi Bopara, Chris Jordan, Tim Bresnan)
New Zealand – 2 (Brendon McCullum)
Important facts about the match:
- England’s score of 176/6 is the highest score by any team at Chittagong
- New Zealand never won a T20I against England, batting second
In the pic: Stuart Broad and Brendon McCullum walk back to the pavilion after the rain intervened
Picture Courtesy: ESPN Cricinfo