Auckland move into final with comfortable win

Auckland 259 for 9 (Houpapa 66) beat Wellington 188 (Mills 65, Ryder 52, Pasupati 3-24) by 71 runs
Scorecard

Auckland booked a place in the State Shield semi-final after beating Wellington at the Basin Reserve by 71 runs. They will now play Otago in the final.

Having won the toss and chosen to bat, Auckland racked up 259, riding on David Houpapa's 66. In partnership with Colin de Grandhomme's 38 and Reece Young's 37, Houpapa helped Auckland recover from 89 for 4.

Former Wellington player Mayu Pasupati then helped his new side to victory with 3 for 24, backed up by Chris Martin and Andre Adams, who took two wickets each. Jesse Ryder, who had earlier taken three wickets, offered resistance, putting on 82 for the sixth wicket with Stu Mills after Martin's fine opening burst.

But Pasupati and Adams then took over to restrict Wellington to 188. Auckland now head to Dunedin's University Oval for Saturday's final. They will look to double up trophies in a State Twenty20 final rematch against an Otago side eager to claim the silverware this time.