New Zealand 201-4 (20 overs) beat England 196-5 (20 overs) by 5 five runs.
England came close to pulling off an almighty comeback in the T20 series against New Zealand but fell just five runs short. Rutherford (62) and Brendon McCullum (68) smashed their way to fifties which gave the Kiwis a brilliant start, leaving them 115-2. Ross Taylor came in at the end to push New Zealand over the 200 run mark with a knock of 32 runs off 19 balls. England were left with the daunting task of chasing down 202 runs to win. Incredibly, England nearly managed to pull off a spectacular victory as Luke Wright smashed 52 runs off 34 balls. With the in form Bopara at the crease, England found themselves with a chance to achieve the required runs with two overs left. It was not to be though as New Zealand held on for an incredible win.
My Opinion: Irrespective of the result, it was an incredible game of cricket. This is what makes cricket entertaining for the spectators who are not into the slow five day Test matches. Fantastic hitting from the Kiwis gave them a high run rate throughout their innings and justifiably deserve to have achieved the 200 run mark. England were extremely close to victory but it was not to be. They managed to keep up with the required run rate all the way until the final over. Great to see Luke Wright smash some sixes and although England lost, I really enjoyed the match as a spectacle.
Match Guide: Key Moments:
England won the toss and elected to field first.
NZ: 1-1 (0.4), Franklin 0 (1), caught Buttler, Rankin.
49-1 (5).
115-2 (11.5), Rutherford 62 (35), 6 x fours, 4 x sixes, caught Haled, Wright.
116-2 (12), B. McCullum hits 50* off 36 balls.
156-2 (15).
161-3 (15.5), B. McCullum 68 (48), 7 x fours, 2 x sixes, bowled by Wright.
200-4 (19.5), Latham 22 (17), 1 x four, 1 x six, caught Bopara, Dernbach.
201-4 (20), Taylor 32* (19), 2 x fours, 1 x six. Munro 0* (0).
ENG: 50-1 (3.4), Lumb 29 (15), 3 x fours, 2 x sixes, bowled by N. McCullum.
60-1 (5), need 142 runs off 90 balls.
103-1 (10), need 99 runs off 60 balls.
105-2 (10.3), Hales 39 (29), 5 x fours, 1 x six, caught Franklin, Hira.
134-3 (13.5), Morgan 7 (10), caught Taylor, Butler.
136-3 (14), Wright hits 50* off 29 balls.
139-4 (15), Wright 52 (34), 6 x fours, 1 x six, caught Latham, McClenaghan.
184-5 (18.4), Buttler 17 (10), 1 x four, 1 x six, run out by Latham.
196-5 (20), New Zealand win by 5 runs. Bopara 30* (18), 2 x fours, 1 x six. Stokes 9* (5), 1 x six.
Best Bowler: Wright for figures of 2-31-0-(4).
Best Batsman: B. McCullum for hitting 68 runs off 48 balls.
Man of the Match: Rutherford for scoring 62 runs off 35 balls including four sixes.
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