| 1W | ||||
| 1W | ||||
| 1W | ||||
| 1W | ||||
Scorer: @Cricket_Lama | Commentator: Nikhil Kalro
8.50pm England have made that score look woefully under par. So much so that even 300 may not have been enough on this surface. They level the series with a six-wicket rout of New Zealand in Mount Maunganui. Very rarely will you see a game that has been dominated from start to finish by a visiting side in New Zealand, but England were today. New Zealand's nine-game ODI winning streak snaps. There was some doubt after Root picked out de Grandhomme, but Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes struck rapid fifties to snuff out any hope that New Zealand had.
New Zealand were disciplined as always with the ball, their bowling wasn't shabby at all, but they just did not have a good afternoon with the bat. In the end, that's all this game comes down to. We now move to Wellington for the third ODI, a pivotal game in the context of the series. That's it from us then, night!
Ben Stokes is the Man of the Match, in his second back back to the England ODI team: "We wanted to comeback after the first game, we stepped that intensity up in this game. Good to get some time out in the middle. Good to get out here, train and implement it in the games, hopefully that's a stepping stone. Can be tough on the body (training before the game). We keep our chat about the game short and sharp. We showed how good a fielding side we are tonight."
Tim Southee: "We scraped through to something, but never easy when you hand the opposition four run-outs. The effort from the bowlers was top draw. Hard to get away again. We needed wickets, a couple, it was game on, but we couldn't keep getting wickets through the middle. A decent surface, we were left light. Nothing changes to our preparation, we have done it all summer. Taylor will be assessed in the next couple of days.
Eoin Morgan: "We raised our intensity, the tone was set with the ball. As good a fielding performance as we could have hoped for. With the wind, it reminded us of playing in West Indies, we try to use that as an extra fielder. A good surface to field on, the bowlers created the pressure. Slowly building momentum in this series. Ben's a big character, he lifts everyone in the squad"
8 to win
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