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Another dominating performance from the home team. England seems to have all their bases covered while New Zealand have a lot to ponder upon. Another dismal showing, both with the bat and the ball. They did start well with the ball but once Bairstow and Brook was set, it was sheer carnage. With the bat, they totally lost the plot and needs to come out with different plans for the next encounter which will be a must win game for the visitors. Lots of cricket action lined up tomorrow. The greatest cricketing rivalry India-Pakistan will get underway from 3 PM. Join us then to follow the mega clash but for now this is myself (Arya Sekhar Chakraborty) signing off also on behalf of my fellow commentator and good mate Pragadeesh. Goodnight! Cheers!
Jos Buttler (England captain): Two brilliant performances. It is always special to see guys make their debut and start a new journey. Sam Curran gave him the cap. They have a history together, so happy to see Gus performing so well. Its crucial. To get him around the international circuit and making him used to the environment. He has settled in nicely. It's great to have those different options. We bat very deep and have so many bowlers, it's a great luxury to have. There is a lot of noise going around but massive credit to Harry Brook for the way he is handling the situation.
Tim Southee (New Zealand captain): Not ideal but these moments can be highlighted in this format as well. It became difficult for the batters to come out and chase this score on this surface. We started off well with the ball but it was Brook and Bairstow who put us on the backfoot and we couldn't really recover from that. The way Adam Milne bowled was quite exceptional. He showed the rest of us what we should have been doing. Numer of the guys is reasonably young. It's tough to chase a score this. Looking forward to come up with a better performance.
Jonny Bairstow (Man of the Match) - It's a great team performance. To post a big total and get 10 wickets in T20s is a massive achievement. There was a bit of a swing early doors and if we bat through a couple of early overs, then it's easy to strike. Old Trafford is always a good batting wicket. We haven't batted together recently and hopefully, it's the start of many more partnerships in the future. Couldn't get a lot of strikes at the end and that's how it works. But will capitalise on it if there is a similar opportunity next time. We know Gus' pace and it's very scary. Getting four wickets on his debut will be a huge confidence booster. No doubt that it's the first of many caps for him
England won by 95 runs
Jonny Bairstow 86(60) | Gus Atkinson 4/20(2.5) Tim Seifert 39(31) | Ish Sodhi 2/44(4)
What a dominant showing from England as they brushed past New Zealand by 95 runs to take a 2-0 lead in the 4-match series. The debutant Gus Atkinson breathed fire and finished with 4 wickets and it's also the best figure for an Englishman on his T20 debut. It was a clinical display of bowling from all the England bowlers as New Zealand were blown away inside the 14th over to hand the hosts a massive victory by 95 runs.
It was a dismal start from the New Zealand openers as both Devon Conway and Finn Allen departed in the first two overs. Gus Atkinson got into the game straightaway, bagging the wicket of Conway while Curran sent back Allen in his 2nd over. It was Glenn Phillips and Tim Seifert who shared a good stand and tried to bring the equation down. Adil Rashid brought a premature end to the partnership as Phillips departed in an attempt to hit the big shots.
Mark Chapman was the next man in and he came out all guns blazing and took the attack to Liam Livingstone. The southpaw smashed him for a couple of fours and a six before perishing on the final delivery of that same over. From there on, it was a downward slide and they couldn't really recover from that. Brydon Carse sent back Daryl Mitchell with a superb delivery before Adil Rashid bagged a couple. Gus Atkinson then came back all guns blazing and finished the match off in the 15th over, bagging 3 more wickets, finishing with figures of 4/20.
13.5 Gus Atkinson to Lockie Ferguson, BOWLED! IN A BLINK OF AN EYE, ATKINSON CLEANS UP NEW ZEALAND. Full and straight, Ferguson tries to step away and has a helpless drive away from the body but the ball crashes onto the base of middle and off-stump
Lockie Ferguson, RHB is the new man in.
Tim Southee has reviewed it straightaway. He might have just got himself outside the line of the stumps. No bat involved. Pitching outside off, impact in line and wickets hitting and the penultimate wicket goes down for New Zealand. The match is finishing very quickly here.
13.4 Gus Atkinson to Tim Southee, OUT! Southee attempts something fancy as he shuffles across the off-stump even before Atkinson releases the ball. He tries to swipe this but the ball pins his front pad
Southee reviews but it turns out to be needless. The ball pitches in line, impact in line and crashes the off-stump in the ball-tracker.
Tim Southee LBW b Gus Atkinson 8 (3b, 0x4, 1x6)
13.3 Gus Atkinson to Tim Southee, SIX! Off-pace delivery on a good length, Southee clears the front leg and wallops it over deep mid-wicket
Video
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J Bairstow
D Conway
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Old Trafford, Manchester
