England discovered themselves in dire straits firstly, crashing to eight for 3 because the match was shortened to 34 overs per aspect on account of rain. Their predicament worsened as they reached 55 for five within the thirteenth over, simply as Livingstone stepped onto the crease.
However, Livingstone’s distinctive innings guided England to a complete of 226 for 7. Subsequently, New Zealand struggled and had been finally dismissed for 147, making it 1-1 within the four-match collection.
The harm with the ball was inflicted primarily by Reece Topley, who ended an extended wait of over a yr for an ODI wicket with figures of three for 27, and the left-arm fast David Willey, who contributed with 3 for 34.
New Zealand pacer Trent Boult marked his one hundredth ODI look after practically a yr and made a big influence by capturing the primary three England wickets – these of Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and Ben Stokes.
Livingstone’s career-best efficiency in ODIs not solely added energy to the crew’s complete but additionally improved his possibilities of securing a spot in England’s ultimate 15-man World Cup squad. Sam Curran offered useful help, contributing 42 runs in an important sixth-wicket partnership of 112 runs in simply 77 balls.
“I wouldn’t quite say it was a rescue mission,” stated Player-of-the-Match Livingstone. “We pride ourselves on depth in our batting and getting out of situations like today. I thought Sammy (Curran) batted really well.”
Livingstone, who beforehand contributed 52 runs in England’s eight-wicket loss to New Zealand at Sophia Gardens on Friday, stated, “It has indeed been a frustrating year for me… The innings in Cardiff truly did wonders for my confidence.”
England captain Jos Buttler was thrilled with the victory, which introduced an finish to their string of three consecutive white-ball defeats to New Zealand. The Kiwis had emerged victorious within the final two matches of a carefully contested Twenty20 collection.
“From the position we found ourselves in to post a score was credit to the way we wanted to play,” he stated. “The partnership between Livingstone and Curran was fantastic.”
New Zealand skipper Tom Latham added: “We’re disappointed. We started outstandingly with Trent Boult back in the mix…Setting a score is probably harder (in a 34-over match) than knowing what was needed to do. It was a great innings from Liam Livingstone, credit to him.”
In a rematch of the thrilling 2019 World Cup ultimate at Lord’s, New Zealand encountered early setbacks of their chase, dropping a wicket to solely the second ball. The aggressive Finn Allen, identified for his big-hitting, was bowled for a duck by David Willey.
Devon Conway, who was coming off a century in Cardiff, adopted shortly, getting caught behind off the tempo of Gus Atkinson after contributing 14 runs.
Off-spinner Moeen Ali then made a decisive influence, taking two wickets in simply three balls. Daryl Mitchell, who had additionally impressed with a century in Cardiff, fell for 57 runs, leaving New Zealand teetering at 140 for 8 earlier than Willey wrapped up the tail.
In the sooner a part of the sport, Boult wreaked havoc in England’s high order.
After New Zealand captain Latham gained the toss on an overcast day on the Rose Bowl, Boult captured essential wickets. He executed an excellent one-handed catch, dismissing Jonny Bairstow, and two balls later, despatched Joe Root again to the pavilion for a second-ball duck with an in-swinger. Remarkably, it marked Root’s fourth duck in his final 10 ODI innings.
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The strain intensified for England when Ben Stokes (1) mistimed a shot off Boult. The 34-year-old Boult managed an unimaginable feat, securing three wickets with out conceding a run in simply eight balls.
However, the partnership between Livingstone and Moeen halted the slide, as they mixed for an important stand of 48 runs earlier than Curran injected contemporary vitality into the innings.
The collection will proceed on the Oval on Wednesday with the penultimate ODI of the collection.
(With company inputs)
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com