Tuesday’s Super 12 of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Brisbane saw England defeat New Zealand by 20 runs. The Three Lions are still in the running for the semifinals thanks to Jos Buttler.
The Super 12 match of the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup between England and New Zealand on Tuesday at the Gabba in Brisbane was tense. The former defeated the latter by a close margin of 20 runs, and both teams continued to compete for a spot in the semifinals, keeping Group 1 wide open. The Three Lions’ Jos Buttler and Alex Hales shone, while the Kiwis’ Glenn Phillips put up a valiant fight but was ultimately unsuccessful. Social media was pleased with the level of competition as a result.
England chose to bat after winning the toss. Opening pair Jos Buttler (73) and Alex Hales (52) put on an 81-run partnership before the latter was removed by Mitchell Santner in the eleventh over after reaching his 11th Twenty20 International (T20I) half-century. Despite losing Moeen Ali (5) off Ish Sodhi 27 runs later in the 14th, Buttler and Liam Livingstone scored 45 runs together (20).
Livingstone was overturned by Lockie Ferguson at 153 in the 18th. There were few partnerships, as Buttler scored his 18th T20I 50 before falling at 162 in the 19th. The Three Lions eventually finished with a total of 179/6, which was above average. Ferguson and Sodhi each caught one or two balls for the Kiwis.
The New Zealanders started off their response with hyperbole. By the sixth over of the PowerPlay, they had lost a pair for 28. However, before the former left in the 15th off of Ben Stokes, captain Kane Williamson (40) and Glenn Phillips (59*) put together a lovely 91-run combination for the third wicket, keeping their side solidly in the chase.
Williamson’s demise brought about the loss of two wickets quickly, but Phillips persisted in his assault, scoring his sixth half-century in T20Is. After being dismissed by Sam Curran in the 18th over, the latter fell at 135 to become the sixth wicket to go. Mission Impossible for the Kiwis, who required 26 runs off the final six balls and had a few different hitters come to the crease.
Ultimately, New Zealand scored 159/6 and was 20 runs short of victory owing to some strategic English bowling in the last over. Moeen was frugal, while Chris Woakes and Curran both held two wickets for the English.