Phil Salt and Harry Brook powered England to a dominant 65-run victory over New Zealand in the second T20, giving the tourists a 1-0 series lead with one match to play.
Opener Salt continued his superb form with 85 from 56 balls, but it was captain Brook who was the more destructive in striking five sixes in a 35-ball 78.
Brook’s hitting left New Zealand needing their highest T20 chase and they rarely threatened, despite a decent start giving them a platform at 87-2 after nine overs.
Player of the match, England captain Harry Brook: “It felt good out there.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner: “It was a bit flatter than the other night.
In the second Twenty20, England defeated New Zealand by a commanding 65 runs thanks to Phil Salt and Harry Brook, giving the visitors a 1-0 series lead with one game remaining.
Together, the two scored 129 runs in 69 balls as the visitors amassed 236-4, the highest score in T20 internationals at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval and England’s fifth-highest total in the format.
Captain Brook was more destructive, hitting five sixes in a 35-ball 78, but opener Salt maintained his incredible form with 85 from 56 balls.
He made the Black Caps bowling defenseless when in full flow and punished an unusually careless New Zealand fielding display, as Jimmy Neesham missed an easy chance to dismiss Brook at long-on.
Despite having a respectable start that put them at 87-2 after nine overs, New Zealand rarely threatened after Brook’s hitting left them needing their biggest T20 chase.
England’s catching was clinical, and the always dependable Adil Rashid took 4-32. In eighteen overs, the hosts were bowled out for 171.
In Thursday’s third game in Auckland, England can win the series.
Brook made it clear before this series that his white-ball team would not be discussing the Ashes series next month, stating that his primary focus is on getting ready for the T20 World Cup in February.
It doesn’t matter if that is true or not; both teams gain from any Brook runs.
This was one of Brook’s best knocks in either white-ball format as captain, despite his modest T20 international record of an average of 29 and five fifties in 50 innings.
Three of his sixes came off Mitchell Santner’s spin, and one each from seamers Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson. He hit all of them cleanly over mid-wicket on the same surface where his team struggled in Saturday’s washed-out first Twenty20 match, but it had flattened out.
In his six T20 innings since the beginning of September, Salt has scored 89 against Ireland and 141 not out against South Africa before his knock. Targeting the covers and behind square on the leg side, he hit 11 fours and one six.
The ground’s previous high score of 208-5 was easily surpassed by England after Tom Banton’s cameo saw him finish undefeated at 29 from 12 balls after Salt and Brook both holed out in the 18th over.
In a 12-ball 24, Jacob Bethell found mid-on after hitting four boundaries, and Jos Buttler hit to mid-off for four, but England’s T20 batting lineup is beginning to take shape.
England captain Harry Brook, who was named player of the match, said: “It felt good out there. Contributions are always appreciated, and it’s good to work with Phil Salt in this new era. We maintained our composure, controlled the field, and applied as much pressure as we could to them.
“We discussed it precisely with the ball. Getting ten more wickets is fantastic. “,”.
“It was a little flatter than the other night,” said Mitchell Santner, the captain of New Zealand. England’s style of play was astute; they got twos to the big side and hit to the short side.
“It’s difficult to stop a partnership that scores 100 runs in a Twenty20 match. We presented them with a variety of options, but they managed to continue. “.
