London: Ross Taylor's unbeaten century and a timely rain interruption helped New Zealand secure a 13-run win over England in a high-scoring one-day international on Friday, tying the five-match series at 1-1.
Underpinned by a 96-ball 119 from Taylor, New Zealand smashed 13 sixes to compile 398-5 - its second-highest total in 50-over cricket - and set a daunting target for England at The Oval.
England was going well at 345-7 after 43.5 overs, needing 54 more runs off 37 balls, when play was suspended because of rain. When the match resumed 45 minutes later, the hosts were set a tough revised target of 379 - or 34 runs off 13 balls - using the Duckworth-Lewis method and they finished on 365-9.
"Neither team deserved to lose and the weather probably helped us a bit," New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said.
England won the first ODI in Birmingham by 210 runs, after scoring a national-record 408-9.
And its chase of New Zealand three days later - during which captain Eoin Morgan cracked 88 off 47 balls - showed the new-look England is a team to be feared in the shorter format.
"Four hundred should be plenty," McCullum said, "but England are playing a completely different brand of cricket now."
The third ODI will be played in Southampton on Sunday.
All but one of New Zealand's seven batsmen went along quicker than a run a ball as in the highest ODI score to be at The Oval. England's attack was hammered for nearly eight runs per over.
Taylor's 13th ODI century included 10 fours and four sixes, while Kane Williamson struck 93 to just miss out on a seventh ODI hundred. Martin Guptill weighed in with 50, after McCullum hit 39 off 22 balls at the top of the innings to set the tone.
The Black Caps closed four runs short of their ODI record - 402-2 against Ireland in 2008 - after England stemmed the flow of boundaries in the last five overs. Jason Roy (39) and Alex Hales (54) put on 85 for the first wicket in a great start to the chase, only for Roy to reverse-sweep straight to Taylor before Joe Root (6) and Hales departed in the space of three balls. England was reduced to 100-3 but was staying close to the required run rate thanks to Morgan's superb shot-making that brought the captain six sixes and six fours.
Morgan and Jos Buttler had a 96-run partnership for the fifth wicket, raising English hopes and continuing the new-found aggressive attitude in the team. New Zealand seized the initiative, though, when Buttler slashed at Trent Boult and edged to wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi to go for 41 off 38 balls. Morgan then holed out to Grant Elliott in the deep off Mitchell McClenaghan to leave England on 274-6.
Big-hitting from Adil Rashid and Liam Plunkett kept England in with a chance, only for rain to arrive with 6.1 overs left.
At that time, the run rate needed was around 9 but when England resumed, it had almost doubled because of Duckworth-Lewis. Plunkett (44) was out slogging to Boult, who was then part of a marvellous piece of fielding to remove Rashid for 34. Tim Southee took a stunning catch at deep mid-on but flicked ball toward Boult because he was about to step over boundary edge.
Boult reacted well to leap and take a one-handed catch on the stretch.
Needing 24 runs off the last over, bowled by Grant Elliott, England could only manage 10. "It's not a bad day for us," Morgan said, "a continuation of the way we want to play.
