After a massive victory in the third T20 International of the four-match series by 74 runs against the England cricket team, New Zealand will be hoping to continue the momentum on Tuesday and reach another win. The two sides are all set to cross swords with each other at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Tuesday for the final T20 International of the four-match series.
So far in the series, Englishmen have done a brilliant job with the bat and ball. The hosts need to give credit to their batters as they did a brilliant job in the first and second T20I. The bowlers were not far behind, as in both games; they restricted the opposition to a score of less than 140 runs.
The home team stumbled in the third T20I as neither the batters nor the bowlers could come up with a decent performance but they will have a chance to redeem themselves on Tuesday.
As far as the New Zealand team is concerned, after lacking in all the facets of the game for the first two matches, they finally gave fans a glimmer of hope by excelling in the third game. It was the batters who steered the team to win by smacking 202 runs in the allotted 20 overs.
The Kiwis have lost the chance to win the series, but by winning on Tuesday, they can definitely end the series in a draw.
What has happened so far?
The four-match T20I series started with the English team winning the first match by seven wickets at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street. Batting first New Zealand scored only 139 runs while England were able to chase the target within 14 overs.
The second T20I witnessed a similar domination by the hosts as this time they won the toss to bat first and racked up a total of 198 runs on the board. In the second innings, New Zealand could not produce a similar batting innings and lost by 95 runs.
After two disappointing runs, it was finally time for New Zealand batters to shine and they hammered 202 runs in the third T20 International. Following the score, England collapsed at 128 runs to hand an easy win to the visitors by 74 runs.
Head to Head Record
England has an edge over New Zealand in the head-to-head record
England and New Zealand have not enjoyed an equal amount of success while playing against each other in the shortest format of the game. The two teams have stood opposite each other only 25 times in a T20I game. Englishmen have clearly enjoyed an upper hand with 16 victories to their name while the other eight matches saw the Kiwis weaving their magic on the field. The remaining game between the two sides ended without any concrete result.
Key Players
Harry Brook (England): Harry Brook is leading the run-scoring charts for the England cricket team while he is just behind Glenn Phillips in the overall list. The 24-year-old right-hander has smashed 118 runs in three matches at an average of over 59.00.
After two good innings in the first two T20 Internationals, Brook failed to deliver in the last game and ended up getting dismissed at a score of eight runs. However, he has the potential to bounce back and will be one of the most crucial players for his team on Tuesday.
Finn Allen (New Zealand): Playing on Sunday, the New Zealand cricket team was finally able to make a comeback courtesy of the opening batter Finn Allen. The 24-year-old was at his best behavior with the bat at the Edgbaston in Birmingham as he hammered a whopping 83 runs off just 53 balls.
His knock in the middle was laced with four boundaries and six maximums at a strike rate of over 156. Notably, Allen is the second-highest run-getter for the visitors in the series so far with 107 runs in three matches at an average of over 35.
Predicted XIs
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Tim Seifert (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee ©, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi
England: Jonny Bairstow, Will Jacks, Dawid Malan, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler © (wk), Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood, Gus Atkinson
Prediction
The England cricket team has taken a solid lead in the four-match T20I series against New Zealand by winning the first and second T20 International by seven wickets and 95 runs respectively. The visitors made a comeback in the third match by 74 runs but the chances of England winning the series are still high.
Englishmen have momentum on their side and the favorable home conditions can also help them steer to a win. However, defeating the Kiwis would not be an easy task considering they will be willing to go all out on Tuesday and end the series in a draw.