Twin centuries from Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor in a whopping 204-run stand for the third wicket between the two seemed to be enough as New Zealand over-powered England by three wickets in the third of the five-match One-Day International (ODI) series at The Rose Bowl, Southampton, on Sunday. With this win, New Zealand lead a hard-fought series 2-1. SCORECARD: England vs New Zealand 2015, 3rd ODI at Southampton
Earlier, England skipper Eoin Morgan won the toss and elected to bat first as England were bowled out for 302, courtesy of impressive innings from Morgan (71) and Ben Stokes (68), while Tim Southee and Ben Wheeler claimed three wickets each. David Willey and Mark Wood made their way in to the side for England, while New Zealand too made a couple of changes in the form of Wheeler for Trent Boult and Matt Henry for Nathan McCullum. UPDATES: England vs New Zealand 2015, 3rd ODI at Southampton
New Zealand started the chase on a shaky note, with just four runs on the board, opener, Martin Guptill fell for a mere couple to Willey, who trapped him leg-before. Out came Williamson, who put up a short 32-run stand with Brendon McCullum, before the skipper, fell for mere 11 to Wood, who too trapped him leg-before.
However, it was the pair of Williamson and Taylor that sparked a new life into the New Zealand batting, and changed the complexion of the game more or less. A whopping 206 run stand was enough to take the game away from the hosts as the visitors were on a roll. The partnership not just put the Kiwis in the driving seat, but also help them surpass a few records, such as it was the highest ever partnership for any wicket for New Zealand against England in ODIs. It was also the highest partnership for New Zealand and also the highest stand at The Rose Bowl.
In the process, both the batsmen also scored their respective centuries, before Willey broke the all-important partnership by dismissing Williamson for 118 at the score of 242. Out came Grant Elliott, but could manage just five before being dismissed by Adil Rashid.
Mitchell Santner was the next man in and was able to put up a healthy 35-run stand along with Taylor, but was dismissed for 21 by Stokes, followed by Taylor, who was bowled by Willey for an impressive 110. Out came Ben Wheeler and was looking to finish the innings with Luke Ronchi, but Ronchi was dismissed for mere 13 by Stokes. However, it was the pair of Wheeler and Southee that saw New Zealand home comfortably, with an over to spare. Williamson was adjudged as the Man of the Match for his blistering knock of 118.
Brief scores:
England 302 in 44.4 overs (Eoin Morgan 71, Ben Stokes 68; Tim Southee 3 for 44, Ben Wheeler 3 for 63) lost to New Zealand 306 for 7 in 49 overs (Kane Williamson 118, Ross Taylor 110; David Willey 3 for 69, Ben Stokes 2 for 35) by 3 wickets.
(Ayush Guptais a reporter at CricketCountry. A passionate supporter of Manchester United, he idolises Roger Federer and is also a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) maniac. He can be followed on Twitter @Ayush24x7)
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