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On a cold, windy fall night in Wellington, we got a sneak peek at India, where the Twenty20 World Cup will be played in October. Without the screaming crowds and scorching heat.
Playing a devilish field pitch at Sky Stadium that delighted spinners and frustrated hitters, Australia rallied with a 50-run victory over New Zealand to set up a tense series for Wellington on Sunday.
Chasing just 157 got ugly for the beige Black Caps, who were back in a distant second in an alarming setback after victories at Christchurch and Dunedin. Of the top six, Tim Seifert was the best with 19 and Kyle Jamieson scored the top scorer with 30 of 18, as the hosts scored 106 with seven balls to spare.
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Yes, with the five-game T20 series on the brink of 2-2, hitters will be nervous about the same patch of turf to be used after ground crews received a heavy hand from three hastily rescheduled doubles in five days.
Crowds may also attend under Covid-19 Alert Level 1 after Australia won both in Wellington behind closed doors, and carrying all the momentum now for Sunday’s midday showdown before heading home on a charter plane.
Surprisingly, just two days earlier, Australia had racked up 208-4, the second-highest total on the field, and won by 64 runs.
Mark Tantrum / Getty Images
Sky Stadium again without fans, but they will return on Sunday for the decisive game of the series.
On Friday, rejuvenated Australia captain Aaron Finch was clearly the man of the match, taking Jamieson’s final by 26 to finish 79 not out, a magical blow in conditions where none of his teammates went past. twenty.
Needing less than eight and more was a struggle for local hitters, as Australia went straight to left-hander Ashton Agar, the six-wicket star of Game 3.
New Zealand needed one of their top four to get through, but the innings never got underway with Australia looking and feeling they had enough runs.
Martin Guptill raised one to extra deep cover where Glenn Maxwell took a casual juggling catch, and opening partner Seifert brought some up to the rope and then cut Kane Richardson, who caught three.
The crucial partnership between Kane Williamson and Devon Conway promised much, but it was brief. Captain Kane top made a sweep attempt with derailleur Maxwell, who was in the game, then Conway and Glenn Phillips had terrible confusion and the latter kept running towards the locker room.
With the ball, New Zealand was alive and precise for 19 overs, and way up, until Finch broke loose to ruin Jamieson’s numbers.
The towering locksmith was 0-23 in three overs and looked right at home, before he was handed the ball for the last over.
John Cowpland / Photosport
Everything looked very promising for the Black Caps with Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi enjoying the conditions.
Finch went 2, 6, 6, 6, 0, 6, on his feet and breaking full deliveries over additional coverage and a lot of time, as Jamieson’s tough series continued and there was little variation.
Of the last five men’s T20s in the stadium, the leadoff average was 193. On a used surface, it soon became apparent that the pair was closer to 160, as the eyes of spin duo Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi turned. they lit up and matched for 4-48 of eight overs to highlight just how vital they will be in India.
Santner’s first over, the third of innings, looked like he was bowling on day five in Ahmedabad as he spun and bounced sharply.
Matthew Wade led a third man straight to short when Santner made an immediate impact and showed how much he was surprised Wednesday when Hagar was dominant.
He finished 1-16 while Sodhi caught three, mixing and benefiting from sharp sacks by Tim Southee and Williamson.
Trent Boult (2-27) was also very good, and Game 3 destroyer Maxwell went for 18 sitting on his crease.
TAKE A LOOK
Twenty20 Men’s International Quarter at Sky Stadium, Wellington:
Australia 156-6 20-overs (Aaron Finch 79th; Ish Sodhi 3-32, Trent Boult 2-27) New Zealand 106 18.5 overs (Kyle Jamieson 30; Kane Richardson 3-19, Ashton Agar 2-11) for 50 runs.
Serie: Series of five level 2-2 games with one to play.
