Tim David hit a four off the last ball to give Australia a nail-biting six-wicket victory over New Zealand in the first Twenty20 international in Wellington yesterday.
Having been set 216 to win, Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh hammered 72 off 44 balls before batting partner David (31 not out) sealed a thrilling last-gasp victory.
“I thought we were done, to be honest,” Marsh said. “Timmy David is extremely calm and had a lot of confidence in his ability towards the end. We are very lucky to have him. It was a great game of cricket.”
Photo: AFP
The three-match series is the last for both teams before the T20 World Cup in the US and West Indies in June.
Rachin Ravindra had earlier put New Zealand in the driving seat by hitting 68 runs off 35 balls to claim his first half-century in the format as the hosts finished on 215-3.
Marsh finished with best bowling figures of 1-21 before leading the charge with the bat, hitting seven sixes and two fours in his unbeaten knock.
“I thought we didn’t bowl too bad, but the power they possess all the way down is the reason why they are pretty good,” New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said of Australia.
“We had a pretty good score, but we know they keep coming with the bat. The only way to stop them is to take wickets and we didn’t really do that,” Santner said.
The series moves to Auckland with the next two T20 internationals both to be played at Eden Park, tomorrow and on Sunday, before a two-Test series.
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