After being asked to bat, England faltered to 77-6, but Knight’s 56 not out helped England rally to a contested 149-7 at Nelson.
Despite New Zealand’s score of 100-3, a five-wicket collapse for eight runs was initiated by Amelia Kerr’s 44th wicket.
Lauren Bell had a perfect score of 2-24, leading their final score of 134-8.
With her first ball in international cricket since June 2019, left-arm spinner Linsey Smith trapped Suzie Bates at short fine leg, becoming the first wicket-taker for England.
England likely knew five of their top seven players heading into this series for the T20 World Cup, which starts in Bangladesh in late September.
Knight and Amy Jones will be joined by Danni Wyatt, Alice Capsey, and Nat Sciver-Brunt, who will join this series from the fourth game onwards following their participation in the Women’s Premier League.
Sophia Dunkley, Tammy Beaumont, and Maia Bouchier are the three players vying for the second opener position, and they were all defeated somewhat easily.
Beaumont (19) was bowled after being stranded in the crease by Dunkley (two), Bouchier (12) played a nasty reverse sweep to cover, and Beaumont (19) chipped to mid-wicket.
England vs. New Zealand: The visitors lead the T20 series 2-0 thanks to Heather Knight’s half-century.
In the second Twenty20 match, England defeated New Zealand by 15 runs, led by skipper Heather Knight, who scored another half-century, to take a 2-0 series lead.
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