Twitter Reactions: Disciplined New Zealand beat England by 21 runs in Wellington to level the series

Bouncing back from the seven-wicket defeat in the first T20I, New Zealand beat England by 21 runs in the second one to draw level in the five-match series. Asked to bat first, New Zealand posted 176 for 8 in the allotted 20 overs. In reply, England were all out for 155. Mitchell Santner was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts, picking up 3 for 25.

England started their chase on a terrible note as they lost Jonny Bairstow and James Vince inside two overs with just three runs on the board. Dawid Malan and skipper Eoin Morgan stopped the rot for a while by adding 37 runs before Santner ended the latter’s promising knock. Morgan scored 32 from just 17 with the help of three fours and as many sixes.

From thereon, England kept losing wickets at regular and crucial junctures as half of their side was back in the hut for just 91 runs. They managed to keep New Zealand on their toes towards the end when Chris Jordan was going great guns with the bat. However, the Tim Southee-led side always remained ahead in the contest and eventually registered a comfortable win.

Improved batting show from New Zealand

After an average batting display in the first game, the hosts did well in the second one to post a challenging total. England won the toss and decided to bowl first only to see Martin Guptill and Colin Munro give New Zealand a swift start. After managing three runs in the first over, both Guptill and Munro hit a six each in the second over to get going.

However, in the very following over, Sam Curran gave England the early breakthrough by dismissing Munro. Guptill and Tim Seifert then took the score past the 50-run mark and made sure the Black Caps did not lose any more wicket inside the powerplay. But Seifert could not make the most of the start and departed for 16 in the first over after the powerplay.

Seifert’s dismissal brought Colin de Grandhomme in the middle and the all-rounder started firing on all cylinders right from the start. He added 28 runs with the opener before the latter departed for 41. 11 runs later, Lewis Gregory accounted for Grandhomme too to leave New Zealand four down for 96. Prior to his dismissal, Grandhomme had slammed 28 from just 12 balls with the help of a four and three maximums.

Ross Taylor and Jimmy Neesham then played handy knocks to propel New Zealand to a good total. While Taylor was cautious with his approach, scoring 28 from 24 balls, Neesham did exactly what his team needed. The hard-hitting all-rounder scored 42 from 22 to help the Black Caps finish the innings on a strong note.

Here’s how Twitter reacted during the match: