Mount Maunganui, Oct 1 A power-hitting display from captain Mitchell Marsh powered Australia to a comprehensive victory in the opening match of the Chappell-Hadlee T20I series in Mount Maunganui, overshadowing a superb maiden T20I century from New Zealand’s Tim Robinson.
Put in to bat after Marsh, who has never batted first when winning the toss in a T20I, once again chose to bowl first, New Zealand endured a disastrous start. They were 6 for 3 in the second over as Josh Hazlewood struck early and Ben Dwarshuis put himself on a hat-trick by removing Devon Conway and Mark Chapman.
From there, Robinson rebuilt magnificently. Initially scratching his way to 10 off 14 balls, he exploded with a flat six off Marcus Stoinis and a clean strike against Xavier Bartlett to reach a 31-ball fifty. His stand of 92 off 55 balls with Daryl Mitchell steadied the innings. Robinson’s innings, though, came with fortune: he was dropped five times – on 55, 62, 74, 76, and again later when Alex Carey missed a stumping.
Undeterred, Robinson pressed on, scoring his maiden T20I century from 65 balls. He finished unbeaten on 106, flicking Dwarshuis to fine leg and then signing off with a six over the leg side. New Zealand, however, lost momentum in the latter half, especially against Adam Zampa. Despite battling cold, windy conditions and his Raynaud’s syndrome, Zampa conceded just nine runs off his final two overs (the 13th and 15th), restricting the scoring as New Zealand closed on 181 for 6.
Robinson’s brilliance was undermined by Bevon Jacobs’ struggle (20 off 21) before being brilliantly run out in a relay involving Stoinis, Head, and Carey.
Australia’s response was emphatic. Marsh and Travis Head scorched 67 runs in just 5.3 overs, smashing 12 fours in the powerplay alone. Marsh’s commanding drives down the ground and through the offside were impressive as he reached a 23-ball fifty with back-to-back sixes off Zak Foulkes. He pushed on to 85 off 43 balls, hitting nine fours and five sixes, before miscuing a shot to cover when a maiden T20I century was within reach.
Head contributed 31 off 18 before falling to Kyle Jamieson, while Matt Short added 29 off 18 on his return. Tim David finished the match swiftly as Australia romped home with 19 balls to spare.
It was only the second time a chasing side had won a T20I at Bay Oval, and despite being without Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, and Josh Inglis, Marsh’s men emphasised their depth and dominance.
Brief scores: New Zealand 181 for 6 in 20 overs (Tim Robinson 106 not out, Daryl Mitchell 34; Ben Dwarshuis 2/40, Josh Hazlewood 1/23) lost to Australia 185/4 in 16.3 overs (Mitchell Marsh 85, Travis Head 31; Matt Henry 2/43) by six wickets
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