T20 World Cup: England rack up 179/6 against New Zealand
England compiled 179/6 against New Zealand in the ICC T20 World Cup Super 12 encounter at The Gabba, Brisbane. Although Jos Buttler and Alex Hales slammed remarkable half-centuries, England couldn't capitalize upon the start they had. Notably, Buttler became England's leading run-scorer in T20I cricket. Lockie Ferguson took two wickets for New Zealand. Here is the mid-match report.
Hales punish New Zealand bowlers
Hales and Buttler got off England to a flier after they elected to bat. The former took the Kiwi bowlers to the cleaners, while Buttler was rather watchful. Hales smashed Tim Southee for 15 runs in the fifth over. Hales and Buttler collected another eight runs in the next over. England raced to 48/0 in the Powerplay.
11th half-century for Hales
Hales completed his half-century off 39 balls. He slammed his 11th half-century in T20I cricket. The right-handed batter now has 12 fifty-plus scores in the format (one century). However, Hales departed right after touching the 50-run mark. Spinner Mitchell Santner dismissed Hales as the latter got stumped. Hales smashed 52 off 40 balls (7 fours, 1 six).
18th T20I fifty for Buttler
England captain Buttler played second-fiddle while Hales tormented the New Zealand bowlers. However, the former broke the shackles once Hales departed. He whacked three fours in the 13th over bowled by Lockie Ferguson. Buttler completed his 18th T20I fifty off 35 balls. It was his 19th fifty-plus score in the format (one century). He also completed 2,400 runs in T20Is.
Most runs for England in T20I cricket
During the innings, Buttler became England's leading run-scorer in T20I cricket. He went past former England captain, Eoin Morgan (2,458), in terms of T20I runs. Buttler's next rival is Pakistan's Mohammad Hafeez, who owns 2,514 runs in the format. Interestingly, Buttler and Morgan remain the batters to have scored over 2,000 T20I runs for the Three Lions.
Buttler plays his 100th T20I
Buttler featured in his 100th T20 International. He became just the second cricketer to play 100 T20Is for England after Morgan. The latter represented England in a total of 115 T20Is. Adil Rashid follows Buttler with 89 appearances in the format.
