Australia thrashed in Cup opener as NZ land huge blow
Australia's T20 World Cup title defence took a major blow as last year's beaten finalists New Zealand extracted revenge in a one-sided rematch at the SCG highlighted by a wonder grab from Glenn Philips.
The Aussies slumped to their second-biggest defeat (by runs) and worst ever at home after being skittled for just 111 in pursuit of New Zealand's 3-200 in a fizzer of a tournament opener on Saturday evening.
The reigning champions never recovered from the blazing start made by Kiwi openers Finn Allen (42 off 16) and Devon Conway (92no from 58 balls) as the pair torched their vaunted bowling line-up.
When the hosts' top three were all out in the Powerplay targeting the short 63-metre boundary that the Black Caps had found regularly, the game was as good as over.
And it was sealed when Australia slumped to 5-68 not long after Philips, who had run full tilt for about 15 metres and never broke stride on the longer western side of the oval, reeled in a miscue from Marcus Stoinis for one of the best catches ever taken at a World Cup.
Unless NZ or England drop games to Afghanistan, Sri Lanka or Ireland during this tournament, Australia's match against England next week at the MCG shapes a must-win if they are to progress to the semi-finals.
Saturday evening’s 90-run win marks the Kiwis' first in Australia in any format since 2011.
Conway played a blinder as he upped his T20I average against the Aussies to 71 from six innings and, not unlike the unbeaten 99 he posted against them in a T20 in Christchurch last year, he again finished just short of a maiden century – due chiefly to Jimmy Neesham (26 off 13) taking most of the strike in a late cameo.
Allen later revealed a Kiwi plan to "land the first punch" on the Aussies and vindicated NZ's backing of him over veteran Martin Guptill with a tone-setting hand that clearly rattled the Aussie bowlers.
David Warner was desperately unlucky to have been dismissed by Tim Southee's first delivery when a length ball hit his hip, arm and then the back of his bat before his stumps.
Aaron Finch survived his much-hyped match-up with Trent Boult but then fell to NZ's other left-armer, spinner Mitchell Santner, trying to get him to the small boundary, while Mitch Marsh's exit left them reeling at 3-34.
Maxwell did his best to launch a fightback, revving up an otherwise subdued 34,756-strong crowd with a dazzling reverse-swept six off Ish Sodhi, but the leg-spinner hit back when he bowled him for 28.
Much of the focus in the lead-in to this tournament had been on the effectiveness of Australia's allrounders with the ball, but it was their frontliners who were in the firing line.
Each of the three quicks conceded a boundary from their first or second ball as the reliable pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins could do little to stop the Kiwi openers blaze 56 from the first four overs.
Hazlewood (2-41 from four overs) landed two telling blows – most importantly Allen when the right-hander was in full flight – while Adam Zampa (1-39) continued his strong record against Kane Williamson by trapping him lbw for 23.
But both Zampa and Cummins (0-46) returned their worst figures in a home T20I, with Conway taking a particular liking to Zampa as he took 29 off the 15 deliveries he faced off the leg-spinner.
Maxwell kicked the boundary rope in anger when Neesham capped a brisk late onslaught by hitting the final ball of the innings for six to ensure his side tipped over the 200-run mark for the first time in Australia.
Aaron Finch's remarkable luck at the coin toss had earlier continued, now with six wins out of his last seven tosses and having also won six out of seven at last year's World Cup, but bowling first did not prove the charm it did last year in the UAE.
Source: cricket.com.au
