New Zealand vs England 2019: Visitors gift Kiwis easy victory to hand 2-1 lead in T20I series

New Zealand defeated England at the Saxton Oval in Nelson by 14 runs on their way to their second consecutive T20I win of the series. Colin de Grandhomme continued with his amazing six-hitting form and scored a brilliant half-century in a late comeback win for the Black Caps. Fast bowler Blair Tickner was handed his second T20I cap in place of Daryl Mitchell.

New Zealand captain Tim Southee won the toss and elected to bat first on a good batting surface. Martin Guptill picked up from where he left in Wellington, scoring a quick-fire 33 runs in only 17 balls that included seven hits to the boundary. However, he was dismissed by an astonishing backward-running catch by Tom Curran off the bowling of Pat brown. Colin de Gandhomme and Ross Taylor added 66 runs for the fourth wicket to lay a strong foundation for the lower-middle order batsmen to end the innings with a bang. Small but important cameos from Jimmy Neesham and Mitchell Santner helped the hosts reach 180 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their 20 overs. Lancashire-born leg-spinner Matt Parkinson and opener Tom Banton were the latest to be handed their first T20I caps by England. He got the important wicket of wicket-keeper batsman Tim Seifert while trying to attempt an audacious switch hit.

New Zealand v England - T20: Game 3

In reply, debutant Tom Bantan played well for his 18 runs but fell to Tickner while trying to scoop unsuccessfully over the keeper. In-form batsman James Vince and Dawid Malan added 63 runs for the second wicket to put the tourists in line for a crucial win. Malan was picked up at mid-wicket after scoring 55 runs off only 34 deliveries. He was out while attempting a wild slog of a low full-toss outside the off-stump off the bowling of leg-spinner Ish Sodhi. James Vince and captain Eoin Morgan shared a 49-run third-wicket partnership. Tickner returned to provide a breakthrough for captain Southee, when he had Vince caught at mid-off on 49. England were sitting pretty at 139 for two by the end of the 15th over but lost the next five wickets also of only 10 runs in the next 18 deliveries to gift New Zealand an easy victory at the end. Lockie Ferguson and Tickner kept things tight from their ends as both ended with figures of two for 25 in their four overs.

England lose 5️⃣ wickets in 10 runs to hand New Zealand a 14-run win in the 3rd T20I 🤯 The hosts lead the series 2-1. Scorecard #NZvENG ⬇️ https://t.co/kXTsSjV6Gw pic.twitter.com/lT50tjQybn

— ICC (@ICC) November 5, 2019

The fourth T20I will be played in Napier on November 8 followed by the last T20I fixture on November 10 in Auckland. A two-match Test series is scheduled post the T20I series, starting from November 21.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the updates on ENG vs NZ schedule, ENG vs NZ head to head, news, results, points table, most runs, most wickets and fantasy tips.