England chasing 140 in T20 decider

WELLINGTON: Stuart Broad and Jade Dernbach led a much-improved England attack that restricted New Zealand to 139 for eight in the Twenty20 series decider in Wellington on Friday.

With the three-match series at 1-1 after the Black Caps notched a crushing 55-run win in Hamilton on Tuesday, captain Broad and Dernbach bagged three wickets apiece to give their battling line-up a modest target of 140.

Opener Martin Guptill (59) top-scored for New Zealand but the Black Caps could not repeat the batting blitz that swept them to victory in their previous match, managing just three sixes in the innings.

Despite admitting he was wrong to make the Black Caps bat first in Hamilton, Broad again elected to bowl after winning the toss, aware the chasing side has won all four previous T20 internationals at Westpac Stadium.

The gamble paid early dividends when he enticed Hamish Rutherford (11) into a pull shot with a short-pitched delivery in the fourth over which sailed to Dernbach in the field for an easy catch.

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum and Guptill steadied the innings. But they struggled for runs before McCullum tried to break the shackles and was caught on 26 attempting to cart James Tredwell over the boundary.

Incoming batsman Ross Taylor managed the first six of the innings in the next over off the bowling of Joe Root before being caught out.

It capped a disappointing T20 series for Taylor, who has averaged less than eight in three innings since he returned to the international fold after being dropped as captain late last year.

With Grant Elliott (15) and Colin Munro (1) failing to produce, the pressure was on Guptill to produce a big innings for the Black Caps.

He managed 59 off 55 balls and looked threatening in the latter stages of the innings before Broad caught and bowled him for his third wicket.

Dernbach mopped up in the last over, dismissing Nathan McCullum for a golden duck and dismissing James Franklin for 15 with the final ball of the innings.