“Victory is sweet but REVENGE is sweeter”- Shocked netizens react as New Zealand shine to upset defending champions Australia in a historic win
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New Zealand defeat Australia by 89 runs, source: Twitter
The tournament opener for the defending champions Australia ended in an upset when they faced a humiliating 89-run defeat from New Zealand on Saturday [October 22] at the SCG in Sydney. The host could score only 111 while chasing a massive 201 runs.
Kiwis were asked to bat first, and it worked well for them, for from the very start, the openers held on to the crease and didn’t walk back without a 56-run partnership among them. A good start led to a desired ending as New Zealand put on 200/3, credit goes to the quickfire of Finn Allen‘s 42 (off 16) and Devon Conway‘s 92 (off 58).
Aussie dangerous David Warner (five runs off six balls) was dismissed cheaply by Tim Southee, while skipper Aaron Finch also disappointed with his 11-ball 13 runs. Mitchell Marsh was showing he might steady the ship, but Southee struck here too. Marsh departed after a 12-ball 16-run knock (with two fours and a six).
As always, it was expected of Glenn Maxwell to show why he is known as the “Big Show”. But all he tried was going for the reverse sweep and switch hits- his favorite shots. Kiwi bowlers were well aware of this.
Ish Sodhi had already guessed how Maxwell will play his bowl. He threw a full and floated ball around the leg, making Maxwell go for his favorite switch hit, but this time, he missed it. The ball smashed the bullseye, and Maxwell departed after a knock of 28 runs off 20 balls (with three fours and a six) at a strike rate of 140.
Marcus Stoinis also didn’t impress much with his mere seven runs off 14 balls, courtesy of Glenn Phillips’ absolute screamer. Youngster Tim David was trapped in Mitchell Santer’s short ball. David pulled the ball but found Jimmy Neesham at deep mid-wicket grabbing the catch. Till then, half of the Aussie batters had headed back to the dressing room.
From Matthew Wade’s bat, two runs came, while Mitchell Starc only added four runs. Trent Boult then sent Adam Zampa on a golden duck.
But bowler Pat Cummins showed he could at least help his team from the danger of a lower run rate (although it didn’t happen down the line). He smashed two fours and a six to score 21 runs off 18 balls and tried for a slog sweep in Southee’s over in the 18th over, wicketkeeper Conway didn’t have to move much to take the skier to end Australia’s innings at 111.
Among New Zealand’s bowlers, Southee and Santer shone with three scalps, while Bould bagged two. Sodhi and Lockie Ferguson picked up one wicket each. Surprisingly New Zealand, for the first time since 2011, defeated Australia on their home soil in international game.
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Gouri Das
(4695 Articles Published)