4th ODI: Confident England host NZ at Lord's in decider
England and New Zealand will lock horns in the fourth and final ODI of the series on Friday (September 15). After clinching the series opener, the Kiwis lost the following two games and hence are trailing 1-2 behind. A Ben Stokes special took the visitors by storm in the preceding clash. England would be high on confidence. Here is the preview.
Pitch report, conditions, and streaming details
The iconic Lord's Cricket Stadium in London will host the final ODI (3:30pm IST). With the conditions being overcast here in recent days, fast bowlers can get assistance early on. Overall, the deck here is pretty fruitful for batting with the ball coming onto the bat nicely. The match will be telecast live on Sony Sports Network and live-streamed on the SonyLiv app.
A look at the head-to-head record
New Zealand now have 44 wins and 43 defeats against the Brits in ODIs (NR: 4). Three of their games have ended in ties, including one in the 2019 WC final. England controversially won that game in the Super Over. At home, England have won 19 of their 35 ODIs against the Kiwis, losing 13 (NR: 2, Tie: 1).
NZ let down by their bowlers
While Trent Boult has taken early wickets in the past two games, he has not received much support from the other end. Lockie Ferguson has struggled to contain runs. Notably, Stokes played a record-breaking 182-run knock in the last game. Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone have also been among the runs in this series. Daryl Mitchell has been NZ's stand-out batter.
A look at the Probable XIs
England (Probable XI): Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (C & WK), Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Reece Topley. New Zealand (Probable XI): Will Young, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (C & WK), Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Kyle Jamieson, Lockie Ferguson, Ben Lister, Trent Boult.
Here are the in-form players
Conway has an average and strike rate of 55.25 and 97.57, respectively, in ODIs this year. Mitchell has smoked three centuries in 15 ODI outings this year. Buttler has hammered 512 runs across nine ODIs this year (SR: 110.10). Topley has claimed five wickets at an economy of 4.77 in this series. Boult has taken eight wickets in just two games in this series.
Here are the Fantasy XI options
Fantasy XI (Option 1): Jos Buttler (VC), Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Will Young, Dawid Malan, Rachin Ravindra, Liam Livingstone, Ben Stokes (C), Matt Henry, Trent Boult, Gus Atkinson. Fantasy XI (Option 2): Jos Buttler (VC), Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Will Young, Dawid Malan (C) Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, Daryl Mitchell, Trent Boult, Chris Woakes, Reece Topley.
