Hagley Oval, Christchurch,New Zealand
New Zealand
England
New Zealand
England
Man of the Match: James Vince
The first faceoff between England and New Zealand after World Cup thriller!
New Zealand to win this game!
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The first T20 of the 5-Match T20 series between New Zealand and England would be a contest eagerly watched around the world. This would be the first time the sides would meet after that epic finale in the ICC Cricket World Cup earlier this year. It would be a contest that none of the sides would want to lose as New Zealand would be eying to erase some memories of that dramatic loss in the final of the World Cup.
New Zealand has built a strong reputation for taming their opponents at home and has regularly won T20 games in their own soil. But the side doesn’t have the best of records against England at home and have been able to win only two out of the seven games that they have played at home. They would be looking to better that record while the English team would aim to continue their dominance in what is expected to be a good game of cricket.
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Tim Southee will lead the Kiwi squad in absence of Kane Williamson who is out with an injury. The team looks good in these conditions and their batting line-up has done well in the recent games. Southee would want his side to test the young English squad and take lead in the first game of the tournament.
The opening pair of Martin Guptill and Colin Munro will need to offer the side with a good start. Munro scored a hundred in the practice game and would carry that confidence into the next one. Tim Seifert, Ross Taylor, Colin de Grandhomme and James Neesham are powerful strikers of the ball and would look to make the best use of the smaller boundaries during the game.
New Zealand would rely on Tim Southee and Trent Boult to provide them with a good start with the new ball. Lockie Ferguson has been doing well with the ball and would test the Englishmen with his pace and swing. Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner would be aiming to tie the opposition batsmen during the middle overs with their flight and variety.
Mitchell Santner, Ross Taylor, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Tim Seifert, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Lockie Ferguson, Scott Kuggeleijn, Ish Sodhi, TG Southee
Eoin Morgan would want to start the five-match T20 series with a win but he would be aware of the fact that New Zealand would come hard at them during this series. The side has already got a taste of New Zealand’s preparation in one of the practice games that they lost. Morgan is leading a young side and would expect the best from the youngsters. The side would hope to see a good start from openers Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow where the latter will be expected to play the lead role. The middle-order has good hitters in Joe Denly, Eoin Morgan and Sam Billings. Tom Curran will need to use the long handle well towards the end of the innings.
In the bowling department, Saqib Mahmood and Tom Curran will need to pick early wickets against the strong batting line-up that New Zealand has. Chris Jordan will need to control the middle overs along with relatively less experienced Matthew Parkinson and Denly. Their bowling attack lacks teeth and the side will need to make the most out of its resources.
Chris Jordan, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Lewis Gregory, Patrick Brown, Eoin Morgan, James Vince, AU Rashid, Tom Curran, Sam Curran, Dawid Malan
It would be overcast skies over Christchurch during the game which is likely to make the ball move around a bit during the game. The pitch would be a good one to bat on where the ball would come onto the bat nicely. The side batting first would need to score above 160 runs
Hagley Oval, Christchurch is a small ground where batsmen score lot of runs in boundaries. The new ball moves around a bit but the true pace and bounce on this surface makes it easy for the batsmen. Spinners don’t quite enjoy bowling on this ground due to the shorter boundaries.
It is small ground and shall be hosting its first T20 game. In local games we have seen a good batting surface here where batsmen have been able to score freely. Bowlers get assistance only in the early overs. The side that wins the toss would like to bat first on this surface.
It is a big battle between two sides which are equally matched in terms of batting firepower. England having already established itself as the best ODI team in the world would be looking to solidify its position in the T20s. New Zealand on the other hand isn’t likely to be charitable towards their opponents. They have one of the best pace attacks in the world and would be looking to make most use of it. Their better bowling attack and familiarity with the conditions would make them favorites in this game.
New Zealand to win this game!
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