Edinburgh (Scotland), Jul 30 (IANS): A ruthless New Zealand scored 254/5, their highest ever total in T20Is, against Scotland in the second final T20I, to register a massive 102-run win and complete a 2-0 series victory, here on Friday.
Mark Chapman (83) and Michael Bracewell (61 not out) were the star performers for Black Caps with the bat.
Chapman last played a T20I in 2021, but with an opportunity coming his way, the left-hander made it count to the fullest. Walking in at No.3, he moved to 23 off 15 balls inside the powerplay overs, but took off in the middle overs in the company of Daryl Mitchell.
The 28-year-old Chapman brought up his fifty off 27 balls before slamming 33 off his last 17 balls to bring up a career-best 83 off a mere 44 balls. When he was dismissed in the 16th over, New Zealand were 175/4 and aiming at a total of around the 220-run mark.
However, Jimmy Neesham and Michael Bracewell had other ideas. Neesham hit a six off the third ball he faced while Bracewell, who had already started his rampage, hit 26 runs off Alasdair Evans' over to make a 22-ball fifty, his first in T20Is.
A total of 15 runs came off the final over as New Zealand put on their highest ever T20I total of 254. The Neesham-Bracewell stand worth 79 off 28 balls is the fifth-quickest in T20I history for partnerships of over 25 balls.
In reply, Scotland once again struggled against spin. Sodhi, Santner, and Bracewell stifled the hosts as they struggled to string together partnerships. Michael Rippon went on to grab a couple of wickets too amidst the ruckus.
Earlier, after Bracewell broke the opening stand in the second over, Neesham went on to take two wickets in the fourth as Scotland succumbed to 33/3.
A misunderstanding resulted in a run-out and another wicket in the Powerplay. Despite Chris Greaves making a promising 29-ball 37, the Scotland innings never gathered enough momentum to threaten New Zealand's huge total and were eventually restricted to 152-9 in 20 overs.
Brief scores: New Zealand 254/5 in 20 overs (Mark Chapman 83, Michael Bracewell 61 not out; Gavin Main 2/44) beat Scotland 152/9 in 20 overs (Chris Greaves 37; James Neesham 2/9) by 102 runs.