In the third Twenty20 international at Edgbaston on Sunday, New Zealand defeated England by 74 runs, thanks to three wickets each from Ish Sodhi and Kyle Jamieson, who maintained the visitors’ chances of tying the four-match series.
After losing their first two games, New Zealand decided to bat. They were able to surpass 200 runs because to the combined 88 runs off 47 balls made by Finn Allen (83) and Glenn Phillips (69).
With a big mark to chase, England lost their first four batsmen cheaply. However, they gained optimism when skipper Jos Buttler produced a valiant forty and Moeen Ali added 26 runs.
But when Buttler was removed from the game after a caught-and-bowled by Mitchell Santner, England’s wickets fell steadily until the hosts were bowled out for 128 with nine balls remaining.
“Finn demonstrated his class today, and Glenn has always performed really well for us, particularly in challenging terrain. To everyone else, he made it seem like a whole other surface,” Tim Southee, the captain of New Zealand, told the BBC.
“We scored quite well, and we also had the benefit of seeing England bowl for 20 overs while we were more clinical with the ball.
“We will resume the four-match series in a few days, which is nice to have preserved.”
Gus Atkinson, who took two further wickets in addition to the four he took in his debut in the second Twenty20 International, was commended by Buttler.
“We were outperformed by New Zealand, we must admit. We gave them too many, even though it was a decent throw to win. They just took away the game, and we were unable to break the Allen-Phillips duo,” Buttler said to Sky Sports.
“I’m happy for Gus. He seemed extremely at ease, so it was fantastic for him to receive some exposure.”
Trent Bridge will host the match on Tuesday, which is the fourth and final one.