OTD| New Zealand’s historic first Test series victory against Australia in 1985

The rivalry between the two Trans-Tasman rivals, Australia and New Zealand, is one of the most cherished contests in the game of cricket. On this day a new chapter was written in the long history of this rivalry as New Zealand registered their first test series victory against Australia in 1985. In this article, we will look back at the historic series and how New Zealand defied the odds to trump Australia. 

The series decider in Perth

The Kiwis got a dominating win in the first match of the test series in Brisbane. New Zealand won that match by an innings and 41 runs to get a valuable lead in a challenging series. However, the Australians hit back in style in Sydney by winning the second match to level the series. Now everything came down to the series decider in Perth which was going to be a tough battle for both sides. 

Hadlee’s magic in the first innings

New Zealand won the toss and elected to field first in the third test. Richard Hadlee proved the decision right with his lethal spell to bowl Australia out for just 203 runs in the first innings. Hadlee picked up 5 wickets which forced Australia to surrender in front of his wrath. New Zealand capitalized on this bowling performance by taking a lead in the first innings. 

The Kiwi Domination Throughout

Australia showed resilience in the second innings but it was once again Richard Hadlee who stepped up with the ball. In the second innings, he bettered his performance and picked up 6 wickets to restrict Australia to 259 runs.

As a result of the impressive bowling performance, New Zealand had to chase a low target of 164 runs in the second innings to win the match and clinch the series. Eventually, the Kiwis chased down the target with 6 wickets in hand to win the match in a convincing fashion. Richard Hadlee was adjudged the player of the match for his brilliant performance which was the major reason behind New Zealand’s comfortable victory in the series decider.

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