The third T20I between New Zealand and Australia which was played in Wellington on March 3, 2021, saw Australia dominate the home side to register their first win in the five-match series and stay alive with two more T20Is to go.
Kane Williamson won the toss and chose to bowl first. Aaron Finch (69 with 8 fours and 2 sixes) and Josh Philippe (43) laid a solid platform for Australian hitter with an 83-run partnership for the second wicket.
Then Glenn Maxwell unleashed his brutality on Kiwi bowlers, as he slammed 70 in just 31 balls with 5 sixes and 8 fours to take Australia to 208/4 in 20 overs. Ish Sodhi with 2/32 was the best New Zealand bowler amidst the carnage.
In reply, Martin Guptill made 43, while Devon Conway made 38 runs. But other Kiwi batsmen couldn’t negotiate the spin of Ashton Agar and the speed of debutant Riley Meredith. Meredith, who became the 97th player to don the Australian T20I cap, picked 2/24 in his four overs.
However, the hero proved to be Ashton Agar, as the left-arm spinner returned figures of 6/30, his second haul of five wickets or more in T20Is, picking wickets of Conway, Glenn Phillips, Jimmy Neesham, Mark Chapman, Tim Southee, and Kyle Jamieson.
His performance was enough for Agar to win the Player of the Match award, as the five-T20I series now stands at 2-1. Agar’s 6/30 is the fourth-best bowling figures in T20Is and best for Australia in the format, beating Agar’s own 5/24 against South Africa in 2020.
BRIEF SCORES:
AUS 208/4 (G MAXWELL 70; I SODHI 2/34) defeated NZ 144 ( M GUPTILL 43; A AGAR 6/30) by 64 runs.
New Zealand led the 5-match series 2-1
