England and New Zealand will clash swords in the third match of the four-match T20I series on Sunday at the Edgbaston in Birmingham.
This series has so far gone completely in England’s favor, as the hosts have asserted their superiority over the visitors in every single department. They will come into this game with the ambition of sealing the series with one game still to spare.
England started off with an easy victory at the Riverside Ground, beating New Zealand by 7 wickets. Then at Old Trafford, the task was even easier, as Jos Buttler’s team managed to register a 95-run win. For the Kiwis, this will be a do-or-die affair.
What have they done so far?
England won the first match of the series riding on their brilliant bowling performance, as they restricted New Zealand to a low total of 139/9. Luke Wood and Brydon Carse were the pick of the bowlers, scalping three wickets each.
In response, the Three Lions’ batting department showed their class as well, as they chased the target down in only 14 overs, losing just six wickets in the process. Dawid Malan was the highlight of the show, scoring a 42-ball 54.
In the second match, England batted first and proved their batting pedigree once again, reaching a massive total of 198/4, This time around, the bulk of the runs came from Jonny Bairstow’s bat, as the experienced opener scored an unbeaten 86 off 60 balls, which included 8 fours and 4 sixes.
If the batting performance at the Riverside Ground was bad, New Zealand was shambolic at the Old Trafford, as they got bowled out for only 103 runs. Tim Seifert was the only batter who could offer a fight, while for England, Gus Atkinson picked up a four-wicket haul.
Head to Head Record
While having the upper hand on current form, England also has the upper hand on head-to-head records. The two teams have met 25 times in the shortest format of the game, where England have won on 16 occasions, while New Zealand have won just 8 games, with one match ending in a no result.
The Blackcaps’ last win against England in this format came two years ago, at the semi-final of the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Although, that was New Zealand’s only T20I win over the Three Lions in the last five meetings against them.
Key Players
Harry Brook (England): Harry Brook is rated very highly all across the globe, and in this series, he has provided the fans with an explanation. Currently, he is the leading run-scorer of the series, with 110 runs to his name at a strike rate of nearly 175.
Harry Brook batted with positive intent in both games
Despite chasing a low total in the first match, Brook went all guns blazing and scored 43 runs in only 27 deliveries, hitting 2 fours and 3 sixes in the process. In the last match, the lad from Yorkshire scored 67 runs from only 36 balls smashing 5 fours and as many sixes.
Ish Sodhi (New Zealand): Ish Sodhi is the lead spinner for the Kiwis ahead of a crucial couple of months in the white-ball format. The wrist-spinner is not the most economical bowler in international cricket but has 121 wickets in 97 T20I innings.
In the first T20I, Sodhi dismissed opening batter Will Jacks and doubled his wicket-tally in the second fixture as he dismissed the dangerous-looking duo of Harry Brook and Moeen Ali restricting the home side to a total below 200 runs.
Predicted XIs
England: Jonny Bairstow, Will Jacks, Dawid Malan, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jos Buttler © (wk), Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Brydon Carse, Gus Atkinson
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee ©, Lockie Ferguson
Prediction
England was expected to dominate this series before its start, and after two games, the picture has become more transparent than ever before. Although Tim Southee’s team is likely to push their hardest in this perform-or-perish scenario, England is expected to be too hot for them.
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