England set New Zealand a target of 167 in 20 overs. The Kiwis struggled early in the chase, as they could only get to 36/2 by the end of the Powerplay.
Pacer Chris Woakes jolted New Zealand by dismissing both Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson. Once the field opened up, the boundaries dried up for the Kiwis as they crawled to 58/2 after 10 overs.
They did, however, able to boost the ante somewhat after that, as they increased their 50-run partnership off 48 deliveries.
Then Conway was dismissed for 46, and Glenn Phillips was dismissed soon after, as Livingstone’s double strike pushed New Zealand farther adrift.
However, Neesham’s 27 off 11 balls changed the fate of the game as he allowed Darly Mitchell to find his range and he finished unbeaten on 72 to take the side home with 6 balls to spare. In the first innings, after being put in to bat, England started off well as Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler hit a few early boundaries.
However, Neesham’s 27 off 11 balls transformed the game’s outcome by allowing Darly Mitchell to rediscover his range, and he went on to finish undefeated on 72, taking the side home with 6 balls to spare. After being called in to bat, England got off to a good start in the first innings, with Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler hitting a couple early boundaries.
The English innings was then rebuilt by Dawid Malan (42) and Moeen Ali (63), who put on 63 runs for the third wicket before Tim Southee got the better of Malan. In the ENG versus NZ match in Abu Dhabi, Moeen Ali struck a few more big shots en route to his maiden T20 WC century as England reached 1664/ in 20 overs.