New Zealand have slumped to another embarrasing Twenty20 defeat by England, capitulating by 95 runs in the 14th over at Manchester.
Winning the toss and electing to bat first, the home side bludgeoned 198 runs off their 20 overs, with opener Jonny Bairstow scoring an unbeaten 86 off 60 balls and Harry Brook accumulating 67 off 36 in a 133-run third-wicket stand.
The Blackcaps never seriously challenged the required run rate, after openers Devon Conway (2) and Finn Allen (3) departed quickly. Wicketkeeper Tim Seifert and Glen Phillips gave their side a glimmer of hope, but Phillips was caught on the boundary by Brook to end his resistance.
Seifert managed 39 off 31 balls, but New Zealand barely brook triple figures in their run chase, reaching 103, before they were dismissed in the 14th over.
Bairstow seemed on track for a brilliant T20 century, but was stranded on the non-striker's end over the closing stages, facing just eight balls and scoring three runs in the last five overs of England's innings.
While spinner Ish Sodhi was the only NZ bowler to snare more than one wicket, paceman Adam Milne was easily the most economical, conceding just 23 runs off his four overs. Captain Tim Southee gave up that many off the 13th over alone.
"Not ideal," summarised Southee. "Off with the ball, which makes it hard for the batters.
"Brook and Jonny grabbed the momentum, and ran with it. We know we've got to be better in all three areas.
"Milne from the bottom end was exceptional, showed the rest of us what was working. A number of our guys are reasonably young, we'll dust ourselves off and come back in a couple of days."
Two days earlier, they lost the series-opener by seven wickets and now cannot take out the four-match series, as they build towards the World Cup one-day tournament in October.
England 198/4 (Bairstow 86, Brook 67, Sodhi 2/44) NZ 103 (Seifert 39, Phillips 22, Atkinson 4/20)
England win by 95 runs
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