Australia vs New Zealand, Highlights: Kiwis Secure Second Consecutive Win, Beat Australia By Eight Runs
New Zealand pulled off a remarkable eight-run victory over Australia as they continued their impressive run in the World Twenty20. Relive all the moments here.
Chasing 142/8, Usman Khawaja gave Australia a fast start but his run-out, combined with some wonderful bowling from Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner choked Australia. In the end, New Zealand won by eight runs to ensure they stayed on top of the table. (SCORECARD | POINTS TABLE | NEWS | VIDEOS)
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18:22 hrs IST: That is all we have from the first match in Dharamsala. The second match is between South Africa and the 2010 champions England in Wankhede.
18:20 hrs IST: Mitchell McClenaghan is the Man of the Match for his haul of 3/17. He says that he enjoys the conditions and credited the spinners for keeping New Zealand in the game.
18:09 hrs IST: New Zealand win by eight runs. In their first encounter in the Twenty20 World Cup, the Blackcaps have pulled off a wonderful win over their Trans-Tasman rivals.
18:00 hrs IST: WICKETS! McClenaghan gets two wickets and that could be the game for New Zealand. Marsh holes out to long on while Agar goes for 9.
17:53 hrs IST: Ish Sodhi concedes just five runs in the 18th over. Finishes with figures of 4-0-14-1. Outstanding effort.
17:51 hrs IST: Marsh slams another big six off Santner. Agar also gets going with a six. Australia need 27 off 18.
17:49 hrs IST: Ashton Agar comes in! This is very surprising, considering that James Faulkner is experienced in this situation.
17:47 hrs IST: WICKET! Huge wicket this. Sodhi flights this delivery and Maxwell slices the lofted shot to extra cover, Williamson goes back and takes the catch. Maxwell c Williamson b Sodhi 22 (23), Australia 100/5 (16.1)
17:42 hrs IST: WHAM! Marsh blasts a 101-meter monster off Santner. He is the key if Australia are to get closer to the target.
17:36 hrs IST: A couple of streaky fours from Maxwell, combined with Milne's loss in line and length, is helping Australia stay in the hunt.
17:33 hrs IST: The spinners are once again doing the job. The powerplay period was crucial and it was at this time that New Zealand also struggled when the ball became old and soft.
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17:26 hrs IST: WICKET! Australia are reeling. Santner tosses this delivery on leg stump and Warner goes for the heave, he holes out to Martin Guptill at deep mid wicket. Warner c Guptill b Santner 6 (11).
17:21 hrs IST: WICKET! That is a massive wicket for New Zealand. Warner drives Elliott to long off and they set off for a couple, Adam Milne fires the throw to Elliott who whips the bails off at the bowler's end, Khawaja is short despite the dive. Usman Khawaja run out (Milne/Elliott) 38 (27), Australia 62/3 (9 overs).
17:15 hrs IST: David Warner is in at No. 4. He will be the key as New Zealand aim for quick wickets.
17:12 hrs IST: Superb bowling from Mitchell Santner. He flights this delivery and it spins away sharply, Smith is lured out of the crease and he misses it, Ronchi whips the bails off in a flash. Smith st Ronchi b Santner 6 (7).
17:09 hrs IST: Steven Smith gets going with a boundary. After the end of the powerplay, Australia are 50/0 compared to New Zealand who were 58/0.
17:07 hrs IST: WICKET! Shane Watson falls. He was struggling for timing. McClenaghan comes round the wicket and bowls a full ball on off stump, Watson backs away and thumps the drive to mid off without timing, Williamson takes it. Watson c Williamson b McClenaghan 13 (12), New Zealand 44/1 (5.2).
17:03 hrs IST: Khawaja is continuing to flay the New Zealand bowling. Watson is struggling for timing.
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16:57 hrs IST: Close call for an LBW! McClenaghan bowls the off-cutter and Khawaja is a bit too late on the flick, he gets hit on the pad but the ball was possibly missing leg.
16:55 hrs IST: The move to bring Elliott in has also not worked. He also gives away two fours. Australia 29/0 after three overs.
16:52 hrs IST: Two overs of pace have yielded 20 runs. Time for New Zealand to employ the last of the dibbly-dobbly generation. Grant Elliott comes in.
16:50 hrs IST: Loose stuff from Adam Milne. Khawaja pounces on the width and full length to slam another two boundaries. Australia have made a move on. They are 20/0 after two overs.
16:45 hrs IST: Poor start for Corey Anderson. Khawaja slams him for two boundaries and Australia have moved to 11/0 after the first over.
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16:27 hrs IST: New Zealand end on 142/8. It is a below-par score considering the fact that they had raced to 61/0 after seven overs. Australia will fancy themselves to chase this target down.
16:22 hrs IST: WICKET! This time the throw is accurate. Santner bunts it to the leg side and sets off for a couple, the throw from Maxwell is accurate and Santner is short despite the dive. Santner run out (Maxwell) 1 (1)
16:21 hrs IST: Missed run-out chance! Elliott walks across and toe-ends the paddle to square leg, he sets off for a couple and the throw to Nevill is not good. Steven Smith is not happy.
16:17 hrs IST: Faulkner is bowling the second-last over. Possibly, Coulter-Nile might bowl the final over. Strange that Zampa has bowled just one over.
16:14 hrs IST: Good 18th over for New Zealand. Elliott smashes two fours off Mitchell Marsh and he concedes 11 runs in his final over. Can New Zealand reach 150?
16:09 hrs IST: WICKET! Another wicket and Watson joins in. Full, slow ball on the pads, Taylor attempts a repeat of the heave which went for six over deep mid wicket, but ends up popping a tame catch to Mitchell Marsh at mid wicket. Taylor c Marsh b Watson 11 (11), New Zealand 117/5 (16.4 overs).
16:05 hrs IST: Elliott and Taylor are playing some streaky shots. However, the Australians have pulled things back wonderfully.
15:58 hrs IST: WICKET! Great stuff from Mitchell Marsh. Another slow, short delivery outside off, Munro, who has been frustrated in the over, mistimes the pull shot to deep mid wicket where Faulkner runs to his right to take the catch. Munro c Faulkner b Mitchell Marsh 23 (26), New Zealand 97/4 (14)
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15:55 hrs IST: Mitchell Marsh is into the attack. The pitch is starting to behave sluggishly. The new ball will be the key for both teams.
15:52 hrs IST: Colin Munro has employed the reverse sweep well as New Zealand near 100. He will be the key if they have to get a score of over 160.
15:46 hrs IST: Close call for a run-out! Munro taps Watson to long off ans sets off for a single, the fielder misses with the throw at the bowler's end, Munro would have been out if he had hit.
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15:41 hrs IST: WICKET! Glenn Maxwell is chipping in with some crucial strikes. Flighted delivery from the Big Show, Anderson dances down the track and gets beaten in the flight, he miscues the lofted shot and Agar takes another catch at long off. Anderson c Agar b Maxwell 3 (6), New Zealand 76/3 (10.2).
15:35 hrs IST: WICKET! Poor shot and New Zealand are losing steam. Flighted delivery from Glenn Maxwell and Williamson advances down the track, he mistimes the lofted shot and holes out to long off. Williamson c Agar b Maxwell 24 (20). New Zealand 66/2 after eight overs.
15:31 hrs IST: Colin Munro gets going with a couple of quick singles. New Zealand will be aiming to maintain the momentum set up by Guptill.
15:27 hrs IST: WICKET! James Faulkner strikes. Guptill mistimes the lofted shot to wide long on, Glenn Maxwell runs hard to his right and takes the catch just in front of the ropes. Faulkner is pumped. Guptill c Maxwell b Faulkner 39 (27), New Zealand 61/1 (7.1 overs)
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15:22 hrs IST: New Zealand have raced to 58/0 after six overs. This is a great start in the powerplay. Guptill and Williamson plunder 14 runs off Coulter-Nile.
15:19 hrs IST: Williamson joins in the fun now. He smacks a couple of fours off James Faulkner and New Zealand have raced to 44/0 after five overs.
15:14 hrs IST: Good comeback from Watson. He concedes just three runs but New Zealand have made a wonderful start.
15:11 hrs IST: Three sixes smashed by Martin Guptill off Ashton Agar. Two full tosses are deposited over deep mid wicket while the last ball is lofted straight down the ground over long on. Wonderful, clean hitting from Guptill. New Zealand 32/0 after three overs.
15:08 hrs IST: Poor start for Ashton Agar. He bowls a full toss and Guptill hits it into the stands at deep mid wicket. The distance is 92 meters. Next ball, he blasts a flat six.
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15:04 hrs IST: Guptill gets going with a couple of boundaries off Coulter-Nile. However, in the next over bowled by Watson, he gets an inside edge that goes past off stump.
15:00 hrs IST: Nathan Coulter-Nile will open the bowling with one slip in place. Martin Guptill on strike. Can he repeat his ODI heroics which he did earlier in the year?
14:55 hrs IST: Usman Khawaja will open the batting for Australia, which means David Warner might bat at number four.
14:46 hrs IST: Talking about the February match, it witnessed a spectacular innings by Brendon McCullum who blasted 116 off 56 balls. The knock included some freakish shots, including two McScoops of a 156 kmph Shaun Tait thunderbolt. New Zealand made 214/6 but Australia tied the match thanks to Cameron White's 64 and Michael Clarke's 67. New Zealand won the match in the Super Over.
14:43 hrs IST: This is the first time Australia and New Zealand are clashing in the World Twenty20. Moreover, this is the first time that these two teams are playing a Twenty20 International since February 2010.
14:36 hrs IST: Here are the playing XIs of both teams:
New Zealand (Playing XI): Kane Williamson(c), Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Corey Anderson, Ross Taylor, Mitchell Santner, Grant Elliott, Luke Ronchi(w), Adam Milne, Mitchell McClenaghan, Ish Sodhi
Australia (Playing XI): Usman Khawaja, Shane Watson, Steven Smith(c), David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, James Faulkner, Peter Nevill(w), Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa
14:35 hrs IST: New Zealand have won the toss and have chosen to bat. No Nathan McCullum for the Kiwis while Josh Hazlewood misses out for the Australians.
14:29 hrs IST: Scott Styris says that there is a lot of moisture on this wicket in his pitch report. There could be some turn on offer. Team that wins the toss might opt to bat second.
14:26 hrs IST: A warm welcome to the match between Australia and New Zealand from Dharamsala. First things: The weather. It is bright and sunny at the venue and rain is not expected to play a part in this game.
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The ICC World T20 is the one major international cricketing prize to have eluded Australia but with the batting firepower in their ranks, they cannot be ruled out as contenders to grasp it at the sixth attempt.
With David Warner, Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja and skipper Steve Smith all able to take the game away from their opponents on any given day, the 50-over world champions have every reason for confidence.
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The big question mark over their challenge is the fact that their batsmen have rarely thrived on the spin-friendly pitches of South Asia, where teams will use three, and sometimes four, slow bowlers against them.
New Zealand, after their stunning win against India on a spin-friendly wicket in Nagpur, will surely be inclined to summon their spinners but Dharamsala's conditions may not suit the big turners of the ball.
With northern India going through a rainy spell, the weather in Dharamsala could be a niggle that could throw the match into the realms of mathematics.