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CHRISTCHURCH (New Zealand): Patron of New Zealand Kane williamson Monday praised batter Devon conway as he played an undefeated 99v59 ball knock to propel his team to 184/5 against Australia in the first T20I here at the Hagley Oval. New Zealand thrashed Australia 53 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-game T20I series.
If Conway starred with the bat for New Zealand, it was a full bowling performance from the hosts that saw them win the game. Australia had brought New Zealand down to 3/19 before Conway unleashed the beast within himself to hammer an undefeated 99.
The visitors were never comfortable in the chase and continued to lose grounds at regular intervals only to be sacked by 131. For New Zealand, Sodhi chose four while Boult and Southee ripped two pieces off each.
“It was an incredible hit. We got off to a rocky start with the bat and seeing those Devon-led partnerships in the middle, an incredible hit. Going to 99 on a surface that wasn’t easy to start on and we also saw a little swing in our tickets as well. It was a big effort to get us to the 180 mark. We’ve seen a lot of breaks lately so it was exciting to get back together and play cricket, “Williamson said after the game. .
“We’d like to do better to move forward, but it was an incredible effort on the ball. There was a bit of dew, it rocked a bit and we weren’t expecting that. Obviously a significant day, ten years (since the Christchurch earthquake) and there are several people who attended the memorial today. We are happy to put on a performance for the people tonight. ”
Chasing 185 runs, Australia got off to the worst possible start when Tim Southee and Trent Boult scored in their first overs. Southee made sure Finch kept up his lean, while Boult fired Josh Philippe in the second over. Matthew wade and Glenn Maxwell didn’t bother the scorers much either and they were soon in the dugout after Boult and Southee again wreaked havoc to reduce Australia to 4/19.
Mitchell marsh and Marcus Stoinis tried to rescue Australia from the precarious position, but spinner Ish sodhi joined the party. Sodhi came out firing full blast and first broke the 37-run partnership between Marsh and Stonis and then fired Ashton Agar and Daniel Sams in the same trade.
