A fighting half-century by batter Steve Smith and fifer by spinner Adam Zampa helped Australia clinch a 113-run win over New Zealand in the second ODI of three-match series
Adam Zampa celebrates his wicket of Trent Boult with teammates during the second ODI match between Australia and New Zealand. Pic/ AFP
A fighting half-century by batter Steve Smith and fifer by spinner Adam Zampa helped Australia clinch a 113-run win over New Zealand in the second ODI of three-match series on Thursday. With this victory, Australia has clinched the series 2-0. New Zealand will be really disappointed after losing this series despite having the upper hand over Aussie in both matches.
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Put to bat first by New Zealand, Australia's top order failed them once again as David Warner (5), captain Aaron Finch (0), Marnus Labuschagne (5) and Marcus Stoinis (0) were dismissed for single digits. The pace duo of Matt Henry and Trent Boult were extremely unplayable with the new ball, reducing the hosts to 26/4 in 8.3 overs. Wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey was also back in the hut for just 12 runs, breaking his 28-run stand with Steve Smith that helped Australia cross the 50-run mark. Half of Aussies' batting line-up was in the pavilion for 54 runs.
However, it seemed Steve Smith was batting on a different surface. He put on a 49-run stand with all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and fought his way towards the fifty-run mark on a testing surface. Kiwis got the huge wicket of Maxwell after the delivery bowled by Boult hit the top edge of his bat, going straight to Martin Guptill at mid-wicket. Maxwell scored a solid 25 off 50 balls and let his side reach three figures.
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Sean Abbott was dismissed for just seven by Matt Henry. Steve Smith lost his wicket to pacer Tim Southee, scoring a gutsy 61 off 94 balls before being caught by Boult at mid-on. Australia was at 117/8, with no signs of recovery in sight. Mitchell Starc built a 31-run stand with Adam Zampa, which ended with Zampa being dismissed by Boult for 16 off 21 balls.
Starc (38*) and Josh Hazlewood (23*) swung their bats till the 50th over, putting on a 47-run stand to end their innings at 195/9 in 50 overs. Trent Boult was the leading bowler for Australia with 4/38 in ten overs. Matt Henry (3/33) also delivered brilliantly with the ball. Southee and Santner also got a wicket each.
Chasing 196, New Zealand's condition turned out to be far worse. Top order batters like Martin Guptill (2), Devon Conway (5) and skipper Kane Williamson (17) flopped. Starc, Abbott and Zampa took their turns to dismiss the top order batters, reducing visitors to 14/3. The Kiwis did not recover from this early assault by Aussie bowlers and wickets kept tumbling.
Zampa in particular unleashed terror on Kiwis with his spin, cleaning off the tail to bundle them out for 82 runs. None of the batters could even touch the 20-run mark. Daryl Mitchell (10), Michael Bracewell (12) and Mitchell Santner (16*) tried their best to stretch the innings but fell heavily short. With this, Australia won the match by 113 runs.
Zampa was the leading bowler for the Aussies with a spell of 5/35. Starc and Abbott took two wickets while Stoinis took one. Mitchell Starc's 38* and 2/12 earned him the 'Player of the Match' award.
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