Christchurch: England, playing their first limited-over fixture after the World Cup, came out with an all-round performance as they comfortably defeated New Zealand by seven wickets in the first T20I of the five-match series at the Hagley Oval on Friday.
Chasing 154, England rode on a brilliant half century from James Vince, who scored 59 off just 38 balls and helped his side go across the line with nine balls to spare.
Jonny Bairstow (34) and captain Eoin Morgan (34*) also made noticeable contributions and helped England take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Ross Taylor and (44) and Daryl Mitchell (30) did try to take the hosts to a formidable total but were kept in check by the England bowlers.
Chris Jordan was pick of the bowlers for Morgan as he gave away just 25 runs in his stipulated 4 overs and picked up crucial wickets of Colin Munro (21) and Tim Seifert (32). In the end, Morgan and Sam Bilings (14) shared an unbeaten 32-run stand and saw their team register a comfortable win.
For New Zealand, left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner was the lone wicket-taker as he picked three wickets, giving away just 23 runs in his four overs. However, he didn’t get enough support from his teammates.
Both the teams will now lock horns in the second match at the Westpac Stadium, Wellington on Sunday. (IANS)
