AUS vs NZ (Match 13) – Highlights
On November 14 last year, Australia lifted the T20 World Cup title for the first time after crushing New Zealand in a glittering final match night in Dubai. This time in the first match of the Super Twelve, the Kiwis took revenge for that broken dream. New Zealand won by a huge margin of 89 runs by defeating the current champions in the revenge match.
Losing the toss and coming down to bat first at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday (October 22), New Zealand scored 200 runs with the brilliant batting performances of Devon Conway and Finn Allen.
After the Australian bowlers, the batsmen also failed completely. Chasing a big target of 201 runs, the current champions were bowled out for just 111 runs in 17.1 overs. New Zealand won the match by a huge margin of 89 runs as a result of that. With this victory, New Zealand got their first win on Australian soil after 11 years. The last time the Kiwis won the Hobart Test was in 2011 and they’ve broken their 15-match winless streak against the neighboring country after winning this match.
Chasing a big target, Australia lost David Warner early on. In the second over of the innings, Warner went down on his knees to the first ball bowled by Tim Southee. The Aussie opener got out being unlucky as the ball hit the stumps after getting an edge of the bat, pad, and the bat again. Warner returned to the dressing room after scoring five runs in 6 balls.
Aussie captain Aaron Finch was moving forward with Mitchell Marsh after Warner’s departure. However, Finch returned to the dressing room with the last ball of the fourth over. Finch (13) left the field after being caught by the Kiwi skipper off Mitchell Santner.
Southee picked up his second wicket just as Australia was on the back foot after losing two consecutive wickets. Mitchell Marsh (16) tried to play a big shot. James Neesham sent back the hero of the final of the season to the pavilion taking a great catch. After losing 3 wickets at the end of the powerplay, Australia could score only 37 runs.
However, when the score stood at 62 runs for 4 wickets in 10 overs, Glenn Maxwell and Tim David survived with some confidence. David, who made his debut for Australia last month, is already a regular face in the XI, with Steven Smith dropped from the team to make way for him. And wicketkeeper-batsman Wade is playing the role of a finisher in recent days.
But no one could be the savior in this journey. David was caught by James Neesham just after going to hit Santner for a six. And Wade was caught by Devon Conway off Lockie Ferguson. The hosts were knocked out of the match when Maxwell returned to the Pavilion for the team’s 89 runs. Maxwell scored the highest 28 runs off 20 balls with 3 fours and 1 six for the team.
Still, the margin has only narrowed as the game went up to 17.1 overs. Southee gave the Kiwis the moment of victory when he uprooted Pat Cummins with a catch of Conway. This pacer took 3 wickets conceding just 6 runs in 2.1 overs. Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner picked up 3 wickets for 31 runs. Apart from this, Trent Boult got two wickets, whereas Ish Sodhi and Lockie Ferguson took one wicket each.
Earlier in the first innings, the two openers Finn Allen and Devon Conway continued to attack the Australian bowlers from the beginning. New Zealand’s collection in the first four overs was 56 without losing a wicket. From there, at the end of the powerplay, the scoreboard stood at 65 runs. By then, the Kiwis had lost Finn Allen.
Finn was bowled trying to play a lofted shot off Josh Hazlewood. However, the opener played a cameo innings of 42 runs off just 16 balls, hitting 5 fours and 3 sixes in the first World Cup match. Conway completed his fifty in just 36 balls after the dismissal of Finn Allen. The Kiwi opener scored 92 runs off 58 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes and remained unbeaten in the end.
Besides, Kane Williamson scored 23 runs. Another batsman James Neesham played an innings of 26 runs off 13 balls. Josh Hazlewood took the highest number of 2 wickets and Adam Zampa took 1 wicket for the Aussies.
AUS vs NZ Scoreboard
New Zealand – 200/3 (20.0)
Australia – 111/10 (17.1)
Result – New Zealand won by 89 runs
Player of the match – Devon Conway
AUS vs NZ Playing XIs
| AUS | Aaron Finch (c), Matthew Wade (wk), David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Starc, Tim David, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, and Josh Hazlewood. |
| NZ | Kane Williamson (c), Devon Conway (wk), Glenn Phillips, Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, James Neesham, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi, and Trent Boult. |