Kiwis show the likes of Australia they can play

NEW ZEALAND held their nerve to edge out Australia by eight runs in a tense World T20 Group 2 match yesterday and move closer to a place in the semi-finals.

New Zealand posted a modest 142/8 before defending the total with disciplined bowling and tight fielding against their trans-Tasman rivals.

Australia came into the tournament with an embarrassment of top-order riches. Usman Khawaja (38) added 44 runs with Shane Watson (13) before Australia suffered a collapse to slump to 66/4 at the halfway mark of their innings.

Glenn Maxwell ( 22) and Mitchell Marsh (24) tried their best but Australia kept losing wickets at regular intervals and needed 19 runs off the final over by Corey Anderson.

Anderson dismissed James Faulkner with the first ball to dash Australia’s slender hopes of a narrow win as New Zealand rose to the top of the group table.

“I thought around 150 was about par,” Australia captain Steve Smith rued. “Obviously their spinners bowled extremely well in the middle and we didn’t respond well.”

Mitchell McClenaghan justified his selection at the cost of off-spinner Nathan McCullum, claiming figures of 3/17. Spin duo of Mitchell Santner (2/30) and Ish Sodhi (1/14) also troubled Australia.

“Our spinners were fantastic and brought us back to the game,” Man- of- the- Match McClenaghan said. “It’s nice to show some teams that we can play in these conditions...”

Earlier, Martin Guptill (39) gave New Zealand a flying start in a 61-run opening stand with skipper Kane Williamson (24) who decided to bat first.

Grant Elliott struck a quickfire 27 down the order but the Black Caps managed only 84 runs in the last 14 overs. – Reuters