Sophie Devine produced a match-winning 87 off 57 balls to pull New Zealand out of early trouble and guide them to a series-levelling victory over England in Canterbury.
Devine’s innings included five fours and six sixes, and she shared a crucial 159-run partnership with Maddy Green, who remained unbeaten on 56. Their stand helped New Zealand recover from a disastrous start and post a total that proved enough in the end.
After Amelia Kerr chose to bat first, New Zealand’s top order almost made that decision look costly. The visitors collapsed to 5/3 in the second over as Lauren Bell and Linsey Smith struck early for England.
Brooke Halliday then became Smith’s third wicket of the Powerplay, leaving New Zealand in deep trouble at 11/4.
From there, Devine and Green rebuilt the innings superbly. They first took New Zealand to 29/4 after six overs before stabilising the innings through the middle phase.
New Zealand reached 67/4 at the halfway mark, with Devine changing the tempo by hitting Charlie Dean for back-to-back sixes in the 10th over. Boundaries continued to arrive during the middle overs, allowing the visitors to set up a strong finish.
Devine and Green reached their half-centuries in the 16th and 17th overs respectively. Devine then attacked Freya Kemp in the 18th over, striking two sixes as New Zealand accelerated sharply.
The pair added 60 runs from the final 30 balls, a burst that ultimately became the decisive difference in the match.
England began their chase positively and moved to 27/0 after three overs. However, off-spinner Nensi Patel gave New Zealand the breakthrough in the fourth over by removing Sophia Dunkley.
England then built two useful stands. Maia Bouchier added 45 off 37 balls with Alice Capsey before putting on another 45 off 33 with Heather Knight. But once the second partnership was broken, England lost momentum.
As the required rate increased, the hosts faded in the final overs. From 119/2 in the 16th over, they slipped to 148/6 by the end of the chase.
New Zealand’s bowlers shared the responsibility well, with Nensi leading the way with figures of 2-25.
Brief Scores: New Zealand 170/5 in 20 overs (Sophie Devine 87, Maddy Green 56*; Linsey Smith 3-25) beat England 156/6 in 20 overs (Maia Bouchier 38; Nensi Patel 2-25) by 14 runs.
