NZ vs ENG, 5th ODI, Review: Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes help England clinch the series

England thoroughly deserved to be on the winning side as they dominated New Zealand on the day.

Published - 10 Mar 2018, 11:54 IST | Updated - 10 Mar 2018, 11:54 IST

2 Min Read

England have stunningly defeated New Zealand in the fifth and final ODI at Hagley Oval in Christchurch by seven wickets and bagged a series victory. Jonny Bairstow slammed his second consecutive ton and was absolutely brutal over the hosts during the not so steep chase. New Zealand never arrived for the decider as they didn’t bat well once again. However, the victory for England was set up by their bowlers led by Chris Woakes who kept picking wickets to stranglehold the hosts.

England captain Eoin Morgan opted to bowl first in the series decider as they had to leave out Jason Roy due to injury and included Alex Hales at the top of the order. The Kiwis also missed their hero from the last game Ross Taylor who failed to recover from the injury which he sustained while playing a record-breaking knock of 181*. Mark Chapman replaced him for the crucial encounter in Christchurch.

Top-order failure hurts NZ

A rather bizarre series for Colin Munro summed up in his final outing as he bagged yet another duck as Woakes snaffled him in the very first over. The tight bowling in the powerplay from the visitors led to the wicket of the skipper Kane Williamson who was castled by Mark Wood. Tom Latham, promoted at 4 in the absence of Taylor, followed his skipper soon as Chapman also failed to add any runs to the score with Moeen Ali scalping him to leave the Blackcaps reeling at 61/4 in the 18th over.

Though Martin Guptill was fighting at the other end and his innings of 47 was cut short by Adil Rashid as the same bowler also sent back Colin de Grandhomme. Things were looking bleak for the home side at 93/6 as Mitchell Santner and Henry Nicholls came together and saved them the blushes. Both slammed half-centuries with the latter being more enterprising. Santner continued his great form with the bat and smashed 67 off just 712 deliveries with 4 fours and a couple of maximums with his partner scoring 55 off 81.

Eventually, New Zealand posted 223, the score which was under-par but a good one given their position half-way through the innings. Woakes and Rashid ripped through their line-up as they scalped three wickets each with the other bowlers chipping in nicely and supporting them.

Bairstow blitz blows the hosts

The new opening pair of Bairstow and Hales strode out to the middle for the visitors as they aimed the series victory. Both smashed the ball to all the parts of the Hagley Oval. Especially Bairstow who struck form at the fag end of the series and made merry of the small boundaries. It was a special knock from him as he looks set to open for his country in the limited overs format in the World Cup next year. He scored 104 runs off just 60 deliveries with 9 fours and sent the ball into the crowd six times.

Bairstow was dismissed by Trent Boult hit wicket as it was the only way he could’ve got out on the day. The opening stand of 155 in just 20 overs sucked all the fighting spirits of New Zealand with Hales also scoring 61 off 74 balls in his comeback game. Though a few wickets fell in the end, to be precise 3, England were on course for a series victory. In the end, it was Ben Stokes who finished with a couple of gigantic sixes off Ish Sodhi and stamped England’s authority on what was a thoroughly competitive series barring the last game.

England chased the target in the 33rd over with Stokes and Joe Root in the middle as New Zealand were left pondering over their batting failures in the decider. Jonny Bairstow was deservedly the Man of the Match as Chris Woakes was honoured as Man of the Series for his impeccable bowling effort during all the five matches.