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ENG vs NZ | Matt Henry, Santner's Efforts Puncture England's Heavy-Weight Batting

image-lnd53ypkPhillips bagged two crucial wickets vs England (AP Photo)

Brief Score (1st Innings): England - 282/9 [Joe Root - 77, Jos Buttler - 43; Matt Henry - 3/48 (10), Glenn Phillips - 2/17 (3)] against New Zealand.

The reigning champions, England, failed to showcase the world their batting prowess in Ahmedabad on Thursday as the New Zealand bowlers - especially Matt Henry and Mitchell Santner - asked them some serious questions in the ICC World Cup 2023 opener. Despite Joe Root's impressive show - an 86-ball 77, the Three Lions toppled at 282/9, a below-par score as per the English's high-raised standards.

The Black Caps' stand-in skipper Tom Latham won the toss and asked Henry and Trent Boult to unleash. The latter erred his lines and lengths, but the former bowled like a dream. He removed Dawid Malan early in the innings before Santner got rid of Jonny Bairstow.

As the pressure was rising on the English, Root and Harry Brook tried building a forte in the middle. The former Test captain was as impressive as ever, while the young batter unleashed some spellbinding strokes in his maiden World Cup outing. However, his brief stay could only end up as a small cameo after he mis-slogged one stroke against Rachin Ravindra - that too after hitting him for two boundaries and a maximum on consecutive deliveries.

In the middle overs, Jos Buttler tried his hand with a counter-attacking 43, but he too kneeled in front of the Henry masterclass. He nicked an in-seamer down to Latham behind the woods. The lower middle-order fell like a pack of cards as England could only get to 282 for 9 despite being 188-4 after 33-ish overs.

On the bowling front, Henry, Santner and Glenn Phillips bagged a couple of wickets; meanwhile, Boult, Rachin Ravindra and Jimmy Neesham had off-days with the ball. 

Last edition's runners-up will have to chase down a total of 283 runs to dent the English hopes, but the Ahmedabad track has started showing some assistance for the tweakers.