9:30pm Australia bounce back to level the series. After the lower order rallied NZ to 281 for 9, Warner and Khawaja gave Australia a rousing start with an 122-run partnership. Though the visitors' middle order fell away, Mitch Marsh stepped up, as did John Hastings in an unbroken 86-run partnership under pressure.
New Zealand's fielding was superb, exemplified by catches from Milne and Ronchi. Baz kept attacking Australia. He even deployed a slip to a set Warner who was batting in the nineties. Marsh was then welcomed by a two-man slip cordon. New Zealand willed themselves to manufacture a win, but they were overpowered by Marsh. Hastings played some smart cricket as well, finding the gaps before launching some big hits at the end.
Marsh and Hastings had a good day at the IPL auction as well
Baz: I thought we were okay. We were par. That summed up the game, we were just okay. Australia played well under pressure. We are still learning a little bit. We are still hanging in there. Santner is a gun cricketer. He is a huge positive for us. I thought the bowlers did d good job as well. Australia took their opportunities and deserve to win. We had another big crowd today; I'm sure there will be a bumper crowd at Hamilton. It should be a cracker
Smith: I thought the way we were able to scrape over the line, we showed composure. We could have bowled them out for 250. We let it slip, I dropped a catch. I thought the surface was pretty good and I'm just pleased we were able to scrape home. Hastings did a terrific job. No.3,4, and 5 still have a lot of work to do. Zampa did well, he took crucial two wickets.
Mitch Marsh is the Man of the Match
Santner: Warner played fantastically.That brought us back into the game. Milne's catch was pretty good from my angle. It was an awesome catch at a crucial time.
Vishaal : "How good has the Big Duke been for Australia today!! "
Andrew : "Haven't been a Hastings fan til now, but he's changing my mind!"
Pranav: "Hastings did the Faulkner at wellington. "
That is all we have for you from this match. It was good fun bringing this to you. Do tune in for the decider at Seddon Park as well, on Monday. Cheers and ta ta!