Australia on Friday (March 13) took a 1-0 lead over New Zealand with a thumping 71-run victory in the ODI series opener at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

Opting to bat first, the hosts posted 258/7 in 50 overs on the back of half-centuries from David Warner (67 off 88 balls), Aaron Finch (60 off 75 balls) and Marnus Labuschagne (56 of 52 balls).

For the Kiwis, spinners did a great job on the sluggish SCG pitch as Ish Sodhi (3-51) and Mitchell Santner (2/34) claimed five wickets between them.

In reply, New Zealand got bowled out for a paltry 187 in 41 overs. It was a listless performance from the Black Caps batsmen as opener Martin Guptill (40 off 73 balls) was the only one to touch the 40-run mark.

Aussie bowlers made the most of the sluggish surface. While Pat Cummins (3-25) and Mitchell Marsh (3-29) took three wickets each, Josh Hazlewood (2-37) and Adam Zampa (2-50) picked up two apiece.

Brief Scores:

Australia 258/7 in 50 overs (David Warner 67; Ish Sodhi 3-51) defeated New Zealand 187/10 in 41 overs (Martin Guptill 40; Pat Cummins 3-25) by 71 runs.