Blair Tickner Shines with Four Wickets; England Set New Zealand a Target of Just 176 Runs

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): New Zealand pacer Blair Tickner starred with the ball, taking four wickets against England in the second ODI being played in Hamilton. His sharp bowling restricted the visitors to 175 runs in 36 overs.

After losing the toss, England came out to bat first but had a disastrous start. In the third over, Ben Duckett was dismissed after scoring just 1 run off 5 balls. Jamie Smith could only add 13 runs before getting out. Joe Root tried to stabilize the innings with 25 runs off 34 balls, including three fours, but fell when the team’s score was 51.

England captain Harry Brook came in to bat at number four and scored 34 runs off 34 balls, hitting one six and three fours. The top scorer for England was Jamie Overton, who made 42 runs off 28 balls, including two sixes and four fours.

For New Zealand, Blair Tickner was the standout bowler, taking 4 wickets for 34 runs in 8 overs. Nathan Smith picked up 2 wickets, while Jacob Duffy, Zakary Foulkes, Mitchell Santner, and Mitchell Bracewell took one wicket each.

England had earlier won the three-match T20 series 1-0, with two matches ending in no result due to rain. In the current ODI series, New Zealand claimed the first match at Bay Oval by 4 wickets. England now needs a win to level the series, but with a small target of 176 runs, New Zealand is in a strong position to seal the three-match series. The third ODI will be played on November 1 in Wellington.