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Australia defeated New Zealand by whooping 113 runs in Cairns, and Adam Zampa took five wickets, giving Australia an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match Chappell-Hadlee ODI series.
In pursuit of 196, the tourists were bundled out with just 82.
The Australian pacemen produced important cuts to set up the victory in front-foot circumstances where the ball nipped around. Following his dismissal in the first over, Martin Guptill was out on the fifth ball of the following over when he edged Mitchell Starc to Aaron Finch at first slip. Josh Hazlewood and Starc, who also found movement and bounce to throw Devon Conway and Kane Williamson off guard, tightly controlled the scoring pace.
Conway played the pick-up shot off Sean Abbott in an effort to escape, but he only managed to hit the man at fine leg. Later, Abbott pushed wary Tom Latham forward to make him move one-step closer to slip cordon.
Australia had such a firm grip on the game that Abbott ended up bowling four consecutive overs for the first time. The New Zealand captain was out LBW to Zampa’s full toss because of the visiting team’s lack of commitment. Williamson took a review but could not reverse it.
Darly Mitchell then attempted a reverse sweep facing Zampa but failed to concede and was ruled out by the referee. Jimmy Neesham flicked one to midwicket as Starc returned for his second spell, ending Michael Bracewell’s brief stint at the wicket, as New Zealand’s miserable parade continued.
The final touches were then added by Zampa, who claimed the final three wickets. By the way, New Zealand last defeated Australia in an ODI back in 2009.
Trent Boult and Matt Henry, two New Zealand pacemen, split seven wickets earlier, giving their country hope that it could win the series. After being put in to bat, Australia saw a collapse for the second time in two games, losing their first four wickets for just 26 runs.
Henry’s dismissal of the ineffective Aaron Finch for no point signaled the beginning of the slide. David Warner, his batting partner, was also dismissed by Henry when the southpaw mistimed a drive to mid-off.
Then, a superb inswinger from Boult knocked Marnus Labuschagne out and trapped him in front. Boult also used the LBW method to send Marcus Stoinis back to the hut. When one of the game’s heroes, Alex Carey, was out by Mitchell Santner off Tom Latham, the home team’s woes only deepened. Steve Smith, who observed a slew of his batting mates trudging back to the pavilion, then went about doing the repair job alongside Glenn Maxwell. Maxwell top-edged a pull off of Boult to Martin Guptill, though just as the two appeared to be in a good position.
Abbott, who was brought in to fill in for the injured Cameron Green, failed to make an impact as well, losing to a superb catch by Santner at covers off Henry. When Tim Southee defeated Smith, it did not appear like Australia would surpass 150 runs. Prior Zampa became Boult’s fourth victim at that point, the two batsmen put together a crucial partnership of 31 for the ninth wicket.
More drama occurred in the slog overs as Hazlewood and Starc used the loft, punch, and a few slog overs to get Australia almost to 200-run mark.
Eventually, Australia’s first innings total proved to be more than sufficient despite the challenging batting circumstances.
Scores
Australia – 195/9
New Zealand 82/33
