New Zealand have taken an impressive advantage against Australia in this three-match T20I series, but their opponent has shown great form.
Adam Zampa returned to attack and quickly struck, getting Josh Clarkson to hit a six with his first delivery and dismissing Adam Milne with the next ball for a hat-trick dismissal. In this article, we will discuss the main points of Australian Men’s Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Team Match Scorecard.
Scorecard
As New Zealand approach the end of their innings, they require another 92 runs to secure victory and hope their batsmen can keep pace with Australia’s pace bowlers. Unfortunately for them, Adam Zampa had other plans and took out Glenn Phillips with one crucial wicket-taking strike – further weakening New Zealand’s hopes.
Australia have suffered two early wickets as openers Marnus and Southee are dismissed in rapid succession, but Green acted swiftly by hitting an uncharacteristic slog sweep over long on for four runs to stabilise their innings before the new ball arrives and was only able to add one run before its dispatch was called for.
Cummins began his second over by hitting Kuggeleijn with a pitch, who dives under it only to dig in for a single before the over was complete.
Black Caps’ innings is in danger of collapse after Trent Boult gifted another six off his first over and Ben Sears failed to contain runs with an over that ended with Henry hitting four and Khawaja delivering four fours off one over from him.
Pace bowlers continue to dominate with Starc’s impressive wrong-un catching Latham leg before for 27 and then Williamson leg before for 49. Santner could only manage seven not out before misjudging a well-disguised slower ball from Ellis and being caught out. Australia’s bowlers continue to impress and it seems likely they can wrap up this series in Wellington before heading over to India for three ODIs which could have significant ramifications on ICC rankings; Australia are looking to increase their lead at the top by increasing their lead at the top and wining this series could ratchet up significantly!
Australia vs New Zealand
Australia and New Zealand share an intense bond in many aspects, from sport and social relations to politics and policies. Yet its closeness has not extended to cricket – the two nations having only ever met 60 times on the Test pitch!
After Wednesday’s three-match T20 series, that figure should likely increase to 71 due to New Zealand Cricket’s decision on Monday to expand the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy competition to include T20Is as well as Tests. They believe doing this will boost interest in competition while drawing in more TV viewers and viewers at home.
On a cool and overcast morning, New Zealand began to struggle against Australia’s disciplined bowling attack. Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green got off to a strong start but struggled to form meaningful partnerships and the Black Caps struggled against Australia.
By teatime, New Zealand were 383-7 and, despite an aggressive partnership of 116 runs between Glenn Phillips and Tom Blundell in their final wicket stand, hopes of keeping Australia under 400 were rapidly diminishing.
Travis Head struck an unassailable 59-ball century to help Australia achieve an insurmountable 388 team total against New Zealand for an all-time team total.
Rachin Ravindra provided any resistance against Australia’s world-class bowling attack, yet still succumbed in the penultimate over of the day when he fell for 68 (35). Later in the match, Marnus Labuschagne misjudged Mitchell Starc’s long-on catch and fell for an uncharacteristic nine-ball duck before giving Australia their third win of this series by 172 runs. This meant they lead 2-1.
Day 1
The opening day of the second Test between Australia and New Zealand was an eventful one, featuring highs and lows on both sides. Furthermore, many touching moments highlighted why this rivalry holds such special significance to players and fans alike.
The Black Caps won the toss and elected to bowl on a green top wicket. Tim Southee’s swing and Trent Boult’s accuracy initially kept the run rate in check, before Australia began their innings and were soon in total control of proceedings.
Smith and Usman Khawaja had both looked on their way to centuries when Henry struck, trapping Smith lbw with a good length ball which left just enough room for his batsman to guide it across to wicketkeeper Tom Blundell and Tom Blundell as wicketkeepers. It was one of four wickets they claimed either side of lunch.
Green was in fantastic form and added 56 more runs to his overnight score before the Black Caps finally deployed their spinners for a final session – unfortunately this turn of events ended badly with Rachin Ravindra departing early in his seventh over and leaving them struggling at 221-7.
New Zealand needs to improve their batting if they hope to stage any sort of comeback against India. They must be patient and careful when faced with fast bowlers; furthermore, the middle order seemed lost at times on Thursday.
Day 2
The Black Caps have made up for lost ground on day three at Wellington but are still 258 runs away from victory in this Test match against Australia. After being set a challenging target of 369 by Australia, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra combined well to post an admirable total of 216 runs; though conditions for their batsmen were far from ideal.
Cameron Green and Josh Hazlewood bowlers Cameron Green and Josh Hazlewood’s superb bowling was ineffective against New Zealand, who quickly reached 47-0 within an hour before lunch before collapse quickly occurred. Both openers Tom Latham and Will Young fell cheaply while Kane Williamson experienced his worst innings ever when bowled by spinner Nathan Lyon for nine.
Australian cricket may lag behind New Zealand in batting ability, but they boast a superior bowling arsenal. Pat Cummins, Tim Southee and Hazlewood offer ample experience and Nathan Lyon boasts world-class spin bowling skills; Cam Green and Mitchell Marsh can also provide more attacking options than many of their counterparts.
The Black Caps are facing a difficult battle to remain viable and could easily find themselves falling to a humiliating defeat, but their odds of survival can still be increased through aggressive batting backed by world-class seam attack. If things play out like expected it could go the distance – and, with any luck at all, both teams might even reach victory! It would be tragic if it ended early.
Day 3
Australia and New Zealand’s rivalry has produced some unforgettable matches and moments over time, and Tuesday’s match in Wellington certainly did not disappoint with Mitchell Marsh scoring his captain’s century and Tim David unleashing a devastating assault to lead Australia to an edge-of-your-seat six-wicket win, strengthening their standing in ICC rankings while New Zealand will focus on honing middle order batting and spin bowling skills.
The Black Caps had an encouraging start, but Australian pace bowlers soon gained control of the second half. Tim Southee and Trent Boult’s accuracy initially impeded run rates; however, Australian batsmen responded with powerful shots; Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell provided crucial resistance.
Australia has been plagued with inconsistent batting for some time, yet David showed extraordinary resolve in leading his side to victory. He made an ardent run up the middle and hit two sixes in the final over to help Australia meet an ambitious target.
Matt Henry started off the morning right from the get-go with an explosive opening ball – one which jagged back and grazed both pads before hitting timber. Henry then baited Uzzie into swinging at it and misjudged his attempt at playing on after it hit his pad, mistiming his attempt and shattering Uzzie’s stumps in an unlikely Australia victory. New Zealand were dethroned from first position of ICC T20I Rankings after their defeat, leaving Australia poised for victory ahead before hosting next year’s T20 World Cup hosted by USA/West Indies in Auckland on Thursday in this final three match series before World Cup play begins in USA/West Indies next summer.