Auckland crush Otago to lift Twenty20 title

Auckland 211 for 4 (Adams 54, Hitchcock 53) beat Otago 151 by 60 runs
Scorecard

Auckland rode on attacking batting and disciplined bowling performance to coast to a comfortable victory over Otago in the State Twenty20 final at Eden Park Outer Oval.

Auckland won the toss and motored along at breakneck speed, courtesy of Paul Hitchcock and Martin Guptill. 100 came up in 9.2 overs before Nathan McCullum inflicted a double strike removing the openers in successive overs. Andre Adams, promoted to No. 3, carried on the attack, smashing an unbeaten 31-ball 54 with the help of four sixes and two fours as Auckland raced away to 211 for 4.

Otago's chase was punctured by early wickets and never got going. Adams and Mayu Pasupati grabbed two wickets apiece to rock the top order while Hitchcock prised out two to hasten the end. That Greg Todd's 29 was the highest score of Otago says a lot about the stranglehold that Auckland had on them.

This win will help Auckland erase the bitter memory of losing in the inaugural final last year on the same ground. Otago, meanwhile, can reclaim pride in less than a week when they face either Auckland or Wellington in the one-day final on Saturday at Dunedin.