ENG vs NZ: Allen, Phillips shine with blazing knocks
New Zealand beat England in the 3rd T20I at Edgbaston, Birmingham, to keep the four-match series alive. The Black Caps successfully defended 202/5, having restricted the home side to 128/10. Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi took three wickets. Earlier, Finn Allen and Glenn Phillips played scintillating knocks to guide NZ past 200. Both of them finished with a strike rate of more than 155.
Third T20I fifty for Allen
NZ opener Allen kept the scoreboard ticking even though they lost Devon Conway early on. The former went on to smash 83 off 53 balls, a knock laced with 4 fours and 6 sixes. He had a strike rate of 156.60 in the match. It was his third half-century in the shortest format. The tally includes a solitary ton.
Allen attains this feat
As per Opta, Allen's 83 is now the highest individual score by a New Zealand batter against England in men's T20Is. He has surpassed the legendary Brendon McCullum's 74 in February 2013.
A power-packed knock from Phillips
Phillips came to the middle after NZ were reduced to 75/2. They had lost Conway and Tim Seifert by then. Phillips then added 88 runs along with Allen to power the Kiwi innings. The former smashed a 34-ball 69, a knock studded with 5 fours and as many sixes (SR: 202.94). It was his ninth half-century in the shortest format.
A look at their T20I stats
Allen, who made his T20I debut two years ago, has now raced past 700 runs. With 723 runs, he averages 23.32 and has a strike rate of 157.86. His tally includes 66 fours and 45 maximums. On the other hand, Phillips got past 1,500 runs in the format. He now owns 1,517 T20I runs at an average of 32.27. His strike rate reads 145.02.
The summary of 3rd T20I
New Zealand had a steady start after electing to bat. Although Conway departed early, Allen and Phillips got England past 150. Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell added 16 more runs, with NZ getting to 202/5 in 20 overs. Only Jos Buttler (40) looked promising for England as they got bowled out. Moeen Ali was the only other batter to score over 20.
