Australia cruised to a 19-run victory in a rain-affected T20 tri-series final with New Zealand.
New Zealand struggled to 150/9 after electing to bat first at Auckland’s Eden Park but failing to repeat the pyrotechnics that saw them score 243 against Australia at the same ground last Friday.
Australia’s bowlers avenged that pasting as they tore through New Zealand’s middle order, led by spinner Ashton Agar’s career-best T20 figures for three for 27.
Ross Taylor’s 43 of 38 balls was the highlight of a poor New Zealand batting display that included just five sixes, despite Eden Park’s notoriously short boundaries.
Australia never looked in danger of missing the 151-run target but the manner in which the victory came was anti-climatic.
The players were off the pitch when officials decided to abandon the match due to persistent rain, awarding Australia a 19-run win under the Duckworth-Lewis system.
The result means David Warner’s men complete the tri-series undefeated, notching convincing wins in all their five matches against New Zealand and England.
“I’m over the moon, right from the get-go we played superb cricket,” Warner said, crediting the series win to the skills his players learned in Australia’s domestic Big Bash League.
“It just shows the great depth we have in Australian cricket. The clarity and roles that these individuals have at Big Bash level can (also) be executed on the international stage.”
Accurate Agar
New Zealand openers Martin Guptill and Colin Munro made their intentions clear with a flurry of boundaries in the early overs.
They raced to 48 without loss but Warner held his nerve and backed his attack to take early wickets, constantly switching bowlers so the batters could not settle.
Lanky paceman Billy Stanlake made the breakthrough in the fourth over when Guptill departed for 21 after sending his shot straight to Warner.
Munro followed for 29 in the next over leaving the New Zealanders at 59 for two.
An Agar double strike in the seventh over then sent the Black Caps’ innings spinning out of control, as skipper Kane Williamson and Mark Chapman both failed to reach double figures.
Agar was not done, tempting a rash shot from Colin de Grandhomme to send the big-hitting dangerman back to the pavilion for 10.
Taylor and Ish Sodhi combined for a 38-run partnership but it was too late to revive the innings.
The only negative for Australia was when Chris Lynn left the field after dislocating his troublesome shoulder.
Australia made a solid start, with D’Arcy Short beginning to lift the run rate before a 20-minute rain delay.
It slowed Short’s momentum and he was dismissed shortly after bringing up his 28-ball half century.
Warner soon followed on 25 and Agar’s stumping had the tourists looking vulnerable on 83 for three.
But Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell had Australia cruising and the win was not in doubt before the final rain shower ended the match.
Earlier, reports stated that the win had also taken Australia to the top of the T20I rankings over Pakistan. However, the ICC later clarified that the initial calculation was a clerical error on its part.
Pakistan and Australia both have 126 points in the ranking table but the ICC said that the former retained the top spot on decimal points, according to a report on cricket.com.au.
– With inputs from Scroll Staff
Corrections and clarifications: An earlier version of this report erroneously stated that Australia have clinched the No 1 spot in the T20I rankings. This has been corrected after the ICC issued a clarification that it had made a “clerical error”.