Sam Curran’s Late Surge Elevates England to 153/6 in T20I Opener Against New Zealand

Welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage of the first T20I between New Zealand and England, taking place at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on October 18.

NZ vs ENG 1st T20I – Live Scorecard

TOSS

New Zealand won the toss and chose to bowl first.

PLAYING XIs

England: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (c), Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Jordan Cox, Brydon Carse, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood.

New Zealand: Tim Seifert (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Tim Robinson, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy.

PREVIEW

New Zealand and England are set to clash in a white-ball series, beginning with the first T20 International at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Saturday.

This three-match T20I series presents a significant opportunity for the Kiwis to revamp their T20 World Cup preparations after their 2-0 defeat to Australia at home earlier this month. White-ball captain Mitchell Santner returns after abdominal surgery to lead the team. Rachin Ravindra is also back in the squad after a facial injury kept him out of the Australia series.

England will be captained by Harry Brook, who missed the T20Is in Ireland but previously guided his team to a 1-1 draw in a rain-affected series against South Africa at home.

The last T20I encounter between these two teams was over two years ago, where the Kiwis secured a six-wicket victory to level a four-match series 2-2.

WHERE TO WATCH?

The first T20I between New Zealand and England will be broadcast live on the Sony Sports Network from 11:45 AM IST. It will also be available for live streaming on SonyLIV, FanCode, and Amazon Prime Video.

THE SQUADS

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert (wk), Tim Robinson, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner (c), Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Mark Chapman, Zakary Foulkes, Bevon Jacobs.

England: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (c), Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Jordan Cox, Brydon Carse, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood, Jamie Overton, Zak Crawley, Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker.

Published on Oct 18, 2025