Australia win rain-hit T20 to sweep series against New Zealand
In Auckland, Australia secured a comprehensive victory over New Zealand by 27 runs in the rain-affected third Twenty20 International on Sunday, sealing a clean sweep of the series with a “clinical” performance.
In reply to Australia’s total of 118-4 from 10.4 overs, New Zealand managed to score 98-3. However, they fell short of the adjusted target of 126 runs off 10 overs as per the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method at Eden Park.
As the home team lost two wickets rapidly, the required run-rate escalated. Despite this, Glenn Phillips once again delivered the highest score for New Zealand in consecutive games, remaining unbeaten on 40 runs off 24 balls. Australian fast bowler Spencer Johnson made a noteworthy debut in the series, claiming figures of 1-10 from his two overs.
Australia’s batting innings was shortened by three rain interruptions after they were put in to bat first.
Travis Head, the opening batsman, led the scoring with 33 runs from 30 deliveries, but the most aggressive batting came from Matthew Short, who was awarded the player of the match for his 27 runs off 11 balls, and Glenn Maxwell, who contributed 20 runs off nine deliveries.
Australia asserted their dominance in the series, securing a six-wicket win in the opening match in Wellington on Wednesday, and following it up with a commanding 72-run victory in the second game in Auckland on Friday.
Matthew Wade, who took over the captaincy from Mitch Marsh for the final game due to Marsh’s rest, mentioned that the series served as excellent preparation for the T20 World Cup scheduled for June.
“We aimed to assess the strength of our squad, and today we had the opportunity to do so with Spencer and Matty Short,” Wade stated.
“Our bowlers were exceptional today, demonstrating outstanding execution. It was one of the most precise bowling performances I’ve witnessed from an Australian team,” Wade praised.
“Matthew Short’s batting display today is incredibly promising for the future,” Wade expressed.
New Zealand faced challenges due to injuries, with key batsmen Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, and Devon Conway sidelined at various points during the series. Additionally, veteran Kane Williamson was unavailable due to the birth of his child.
Captain Mitchell Santner declined to attribute their challenges to injuries, stating that Australia’s superior performance was the main factor.
“They are evidently a top-quality team,” remarked Santner. “While the first game was closely contested, we were clearly outmatched in the last two.”
The first Test of a two-match series between the teams starts in Wellington on Thursday.
SCOREBOARD
AUSTRALIA:
T. Head c Sodhi b Santner 33
S. Smith c Seifert b Milne 4
M. Short c Seifert b Sears 27
G. Maxwell c Young b Clarkson 20
J. Inglis not out 14
T. David not out 8
EXTRAS (B-4, LB-2, W-6) 12
TOTAL (for four wickets, 10.4 overs) 118
DID NOT BAT: M. Wade (captain), M. Starc, N. Ellis, A. Zampa, S. Johnson
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-16 (Smith), 2-67 (Short), 3-95 (Maxwell), 4-99 (Head)
BOWLING: Boult 2-0-24-0; Milne 2-0-20-1; Sears 2-0-22-1 (1w); Sodhi 1.4-0-22-0; Santner 2-0-16-1 (1w); Clarkson 1-0-8-1
NEW ZEALAND:
F. Allen c Starc b Zampa 13
W. Young c Zampa b Short 14
T. Seifert c Inglis b Johnson 2
G. Phillips not out 40
M. Chapman not out 17
EXTRAS (B-6, LB-3, W-3) 12
TOTAL (for three wickets, 10 overs) 98
DID NOT BAT: J. Clarkson, M. Santner (captain), A. Milne, I. Sodhi, T. Boult, B. Sears
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-19 (Young), 2-29 (Seifert), 3-51 (Allen)
BOWLING: Starc 2-0-15-0; Short 2-0-33-1 (1w); Johnson 2-0-10-1 (2w); Zampa 2-0-20-1; Ellis 2-0-11-0
RESULT: Australia won by 27 runs (DLS method).
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Matthew Short
SERIES: Australia won three-match series 3-0.
MAN-OF-THE-SERIES: Mitchell Marsh
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