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Captain Eoin Morgan calls for change in rules after Duckworth-Lewis denies England victory

Chris Jordan of England and Eoin Morgan of England leave the pitch after their loss during the 2nd ODI against New Zealand
 

England were on course to bring up their highest ever successful run chase in ODIs in the second match of the ongoing series against New Zealand on Friday, till rain came down on the Oval and thwarted a famous victory.

Chasing 399, England needed 54 runs off 37 balls to win when play was stopped. When the match resumed after the 50-minute rain break, the Duckworth-Lewis method of calculation was used to give England a new target of 34 off 13 balls. Liam Plunkett and Adil Rashid, who were at the crease when the rains came on, were both dismissed after the restart, and England eventually fell short by an agonising 13 runs.

Eoin Morgan had earlier smashed a 47-ball 88 to provide impetus to the England innings and was well on course to reach the fastest century ever recorded for England – the fashion in which he tore through the Kiwi spinners had made an England victory look very possible.

"Personally I think Duckworth-Lewis will change as the game evolves," Morgan said after the match.

“Considering we got so close in the chase, it's a little bit disappointing at the end. It's a huge ask, not only to chase down 399 but to have 34 to chase in 13 balls, given that we set it up so deep, the guys were in and the momentum was with us - it was very disappointing that it did rain."

Match was always slightly in our favour: Ross Taylor

New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor agreed that the rain helped his team’s cause, but stressed that New Zealand had the upper hand in the match even before the rain.

"When we did come off it was probably slightly in our favour, they still would have had to have batted very well. But definitely the rain did help us out, coming in and needing 34 off 2.1 overs, it's a tough ask.

“The way Plunkett and Rashid batted, got themselves back in the game with a crucial partnership, if the rain didn't come it could have been a different story."

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