New Zealand sent an early warning to the rest of the T20 World Cup sides with an impressive 89-run win over the hosts Australia in Sydney.
Sent to bat first by Aaron Finch in the rematch of the previous tournament’s final, New Zealand got off to a flier thanks to Devon Conway and Finn Allen with the latter scoring 42 off just 16 balls to lay out a solid foundation for his side.
His dismissal did little to change the course of action as Conway, who finished not out on 92 from 58 balls found contributions from Kane Williamson (24) and Jimmy Neesham (26 off 13) to help his side reach 200-3 from their 20 overs.
Every Aussie bowler went over 35 runs in their spell.
In reply, Australia never got going from the off with Tim Southee removing the dangerous David Warner with his first ball just for 5 runs.
Constant dismissals became the theme for the hosts as New Zealand ripped through the vaunted lineup of Australia. Glen Maxwell, with his 28, managed to entertain the crowd a little with the game already lost before his wicket left his side reeling at 89-7.
Pat Cummins managed to get a few licks in as well for 21 runs before Trent Boult and Tim Southee cleaned up the tail.
Mitchell Santner and Southee finished with three wickets each while Boult chipped in with two with Lockie Ferguson and Ish Sodhi accounting for one wicket apiece.
The win over Australia takes New Zealand to the top of the Group A table of the T20 World Cup with a massive net run rate of 4.450. They will next take on Afghanistan while Australia will look to bounce back against Sri Lanka in their next game.
