Twitter Reactions: Resilient batting show by New Zealand help them beat England in closing T20I to level series

England took on New Zealand in the fourth and final T20I of their ongoing multi-format series. The hosts had been leading the series 2-1 and were looking to clinch it by winning the final game. However, the BlackCaps had a different plan in mind.

Both sides faced each other at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Tuesday, September 5, and after winning the toss, England opted to bat first. The side got off to a brilliant start to the game as Jonny Bairstow played a brilliant knock to open the innings. 

Scoring 73 runs in 41 deliveries, Bairstow applied pressure against New Zealand early on. However, the other batters failed to make their mark. Will Jacks amassed 16 runs in 15 balls, and Dawid Malan and Liam Livingstone added 26 runs each to the board whereas the likes of Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, and Sam Curran only scored four, one, and five runs, respectively. In the first innings, England managed to put 175 runs on the board. 

Mitchell Santner was the star of the show for New Zealand in the first innings. Taking three wickets and conceding 30 runs in four overs, Santner’s spell was crucial in limiting England. Furthermore, Ish Sodhi took two wickets, and Rachin Ravindra and Matt Henry struck once.

Mark Chapman and co. ensured a comfortable win for the Kiwis

Aiming to chase down the target of 176 runs, the BlackCaps got off to a good start as openers Finn Allen and Tim Siefert scored 16 and 48 runs, respectively. Furthermore, after Daryl Mitchell added 14 runs on the board, Glenn Phillips and Mark Chapman played brilliant knocks. Phillips scored 42 runs in 45 deliveries, whereas Chapman amassed 40* runs in 25 deliveries. 

Rehan Ahmed was the highest wicket-taker for England, taking two wickets in four overs where he conceded 27 runs. Furthermore, Luke Wood took one wicket as well. However, it was not enough in the end as New Zealand chased the target down, winning the game by six wickets and tying the series at 2-2.

Let us have a look at the best tweets from the game:

Bairstow fireworks show ❤️🔥#ENGvNZ #JonnyBairstow pic.twitter.com/c62Zv6YIn6

— Cricket Photos (@cricketpicz) September 6, 2023

New-Zealand drew the T20 series against England coming from 0-2#ENGvNZ

— Sports Geeez (@Sportsgeeez) September 6, 2023

#ENGvNZ

This injustice for new zealand cricket why the number of matches in series is even number ,4 odi 4 t20 this really ridiculous, against india 2 test why not 3

— PARAG 007 (@ParagR07) September 6, 2023

England were convincingly beaten by New Zealand at Trent Bridge as the visiting side fought back to draw the T20 series 2-2#ENGvNZ #ENGvsNZ pic.twitter.com/6UyLH3YFPu

— Bhavesh Gujrati (@godsethegod) September 6, 2023

Series drawn 🤝

We lose in Nottingham but draw the IT20 series 2-2.#EnglandCricket | #ENGvNZ pic.twitter.com/cXhCSihqwE

— Usman Sidhu Official (@usmansidhuoffic) September 6, 2023

@englandcricket Wood, Ahmed, Rashid, Livingstone, Jacks just not good enough. I understand the experimentation but all that it’s shown is that those players are not good enough for #EnglandCricket #ENGvNZ

— Neil Bradshaw (@corneiliusWAFC) September 5, 2023

Can not know how to series win in home condition 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

— Krrish (@SukhenG24880377) September 5, 2023

Malan is not performing for England in T20! How long are we gonna stick to him underperforming. His average is better in ODI, but his time must be up for T20i!

— Sadiq Chikte (@SidChikte) September 5, 2023

NZ are a quality team, took them a couple of games to get into their stride but they have arrived. England will have to be at their best in the ODIs, teams have started catching them up the past couple of years. Certainly an eye opener.

— Rob B (@RobB22888) September 5, 2023

Jonny Bairstow injured when batting pic.twitter.com/9Gl48C5fwX

— Bobby Nuggets ❤️🏏💥 (@bobbydugnutt111) September 5, 2023

ECB say Jonny Bairstow had "right shoulder pain while batting" - Jos Buttler on as a sub keeper for New Zealand's chase of 176

— Matt Roller (@mroller98) September 5, 2023

Jonny Bairstow in this T20I series vs New Zealand:

•4(2).
•86*(60).
•12(16).
•73(41).

He is leading runs scorer in this T20I series - Jonny Bairstow, one of the best batsman in the world.#EnglandCricket #ENGVSNZ pic.twitter.com/OjcF7d7ag4

— Umar Batth 🇵🇰 (@UmarBatth17) September 5, 2023