Adam Zampa, the leg-spinner, took 4 wickets for 34 runs, restricting the home side to a total of 102 in 17 overs at Eden Park. Despite losing early wickets, New Zealand struggled to chase down the target, and Australia, who had set a total of 174, eventually won in the final over. Glenn Phillips was the only resistance, scoring 42, but his dismissal in the 14th over sealed New Zealand’s fate. Australia captain Mitchell Marsh expressed concerns about the team’s score but was pleased with their bowling performance, especially with the T20 World Cup approaching in June.
A great win for Australia. Our backs were against the wall, I thought we were probably 50 short but the way our bowlers performed was outstanding,” said Marsh, who praised the match-winning prowess of Zampa.
“I’ve said it so many times before — he’s probably the most important player in this team. He was brilliant again.”
Devon Conway’s thumb injury, incurred while wicket-keeping, added to the Black Caps’ challenges, ruling him out of batting. The extent of the injury may affect his participation in the third match on Sunday in Auckland. Captain Mitchell Santner mentioned that X-rays showed no fracture, expressing hope for Conway’s availability in the upcoming two-Test series starting next week in Wellington. Santner acknowledged the bowlers’ performance but criticized the lack of discipline in the batting effort. Despite his attempt to promote himself up the order, it failed, and eight New Zealand batsmen, including Santner, couldn’t surpass 10 runs, succumbing to a series of loose shots.
We were pretty happy at halfway but they bowled extremely well,” he said.
Australia’s Travis Head started strong with a quick 45 runs off 22 balls, but the team faced difficulties in the middle overs due to excellent bowling by Lockie Ferguson. Ferguson took 4 wickets for 12 runs in 3.5 overs, causing a collapse after Australia reached 84-1 in the seventh over. Other contributions came from Marsh with 26 runs and a late 28 from Pat Cummins, who was named the player of the match. New Zealand’s Santner, Adam Milne, and Ben Sears each took two wickets for the hosts.
