England captain Eoin Morgan struck his ninth half-century
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England managed to keep their composure and overcome an onslaught from New Zealand opener Colin Munro and Martin Guptill to claim a heart-racing two-run win in the sixth match of the T20 tri-series in Hamilton.
However, since New Zealand finished on 192, they still booked their spot in the final as they needed to score 175 runs to do so.
Opting to bowl first, New Zealand got an early breakthrough as England opener Alex Hales was caught by New Zealand captain Kane Williamson off the bowling of Tim Southee for one run.
Jason Roy made an encouraging start before spooning a catch to Williamson at mid-off off the bowling of Trent Boult for a 13-ball 21.
Dawid Malan and England captain Eoin Morgan stabilised the innings with a 93-run partnership, during which Malan registered his fifty.
Dawid Malan continued excellent run of form with the bat
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However, he was unable to make the most of it as he was caught by Mark Chapman at deep midwicket off the bowling of Colin de Grandhomme for 53, which came off 36 balls and included two boundaries and five sixes.
Even though England began to lose wickets in a hurry after Malan’s dismissal, Morgan continued to take the fight to the Black Caps and ended up scoring an unbeaten 80 off 46 deliveries, which included four boundaries and a six sixes.
Thanks to Morgan’s efforts, England finished on 194/7 off their 20 overs.
Chasing 195 to win, New Zealand got off to a flyer courtesy of Colin Munro as he brought up his half-century off just 18 balls during his 78-run stand with Martin Guptill.
Colin Munro scored his seventh fifty
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However, Munro ended up being dismissed by Adil Rashid for 57, which came off 21 balls and included three boundaries and seven sixes.
Williamson only made eight runs before he was clean bowled by Liam Dawson.
Despite losing Munro and Williamson in quick succession, Guptill and Chapman steadied the ship with a 64-run partnership, during which Guptill raced past his fifty, before he was clean bowled by Malan for 62, which came off 47 deliveries and included three boundaries and four sixes.
Martin Guptill made his 14th fifty in the shortest format
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Even though Ross Taylor fell shortly after, New Zealand continued to inch closer to victory.
Heading into the final over, they required 12 runs to win. The Black Caps managed to score eight runs off the first five balls, which left them needing four runs to win off the final ball.
However, they couldn’t get the job done as De Grandhomme only scored a single off the final ball after striking it down to long-off.
Chapman finished on 37 off 30 balls, which included two boundaries and two sixes, while De Grandhomme remained undefeated on seven off six deliveries, which included a solitary boundary.
Rashid, Dawson, Malan and Tom Curran claimed one wicket each.
Morgan was named Man of the Match.