New Zealand triumphed against a depleted Australia as they regained the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy 2016-17 by a margin of 2-0 with one game being washed out. In the third ODI, Ross Taylor rose to the occasion by scoring his career’s 16th ton and Trent Boult followed it up with a 6-wicket haul to help New Zealand win the final ODI by 24 runs. Chasing 282, Australia were cruising in their chase at one moment with skipper Aaron Finch (56) and Travis Head (53) leading the charge. Once these two were dismissed, there were cameos from Marcus Stoinis (42), Pat Cummins (27) and Mitchell Starc (29*) but they werenever enough to see them past the finish line. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: New Zealand vs Australia, 3rd ODI at Hamilton
Earlier in this series, New Zealand held on their nerves to clinch the first ODI by a narrow margin of 6 runs. Chasing 287 to win, Australia were tottering at 67 for 6 at one stage. But heroics from Marcus Stoinis and others in the Australian tail gave the Kiwis a tough time. With Australia needing 7 more to win off the last 3 overs, Kane Williamson ran Josh Hazlewood out to clinch a thrilling win. The second ODI was washed out at the McLean Park in Napier despite rain staying away for most of the time. The field had soaked up a lot of water and the playing conditions were unsafe for the players.
With this victory, New Zealand have completed their eighth overall win in ODI series at home since 2015. This is also their second consecutive win over Australia playing at home for the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy. Starting with the series winners, Rohan Arun Sawant brings you the marks out of 10:
Martin Guptill (8/10): Guptill played a valuable knock of 61 in Auckland which set up the tone for team to put up a big score. He was later ruled out of the series due to a back injury.
Dean Brownlie (8/10): Brownlie made his international comeback after nearly two years and did not show any signs of nervousness. He looked confident throughout his time at the crease and complemented his partners very well despite being in pressure in the initial stages of the final game.
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Tom Latham (2/10): Probably the only New Zealand batsman who never got going, Latham managed a mere 7 runs from 2 games which includes a duck in the third ODI. A lot was expected from him given the way he had performed against Bangladesh in the recently-concluded series.
Kane Williamson (5/10): He looked in sublime touch in both innings but threw away his wicket. His knock of 37 in Hamilton had all signs of getting to a much bigger score, but looked in a hurry which undid him. He does get one extra point for that run out of Hazlewood in the last moments of the first ODI.
Ross Taylor (7/10): He seems to have developed a knack of scoring tons in last matches. He had scored a ton against Bangladesh in the last Test and did the same in Hamilton. Prior to this, in the first ODI he was undone by spin and didn’t look in his usual form.
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Neil Broom (6/10): Broom hammered the Australian bowling at Auckland and scored a brisk 73. His same batting efforts were expected in Hamilton. He lost his wicket trying to accelerate.
Colin Munro (2/10): The left-hander played both games and failed miserably. Munro managed scores of 2 and 3 and bowled 3 overs in Auckland to claim 1 wicket.
James Neesham (4/10): Apart from Neesham’s 48 off 45 in Auckland, his presence was hardly felt in the series. He leaked runs in Auckland and was bland in Hamilton.
Mitchell Santner (7.5/10): Santner played very crucial knock of 38 in Hamilton and took 2 important wickets. In Auckland too, he was very influential with the ball scalping 3 wickets.
Lockie Ferguson (3/10): Ferguson went wicketless and finished with the best economy amongst his teammates in Hamilton. He did get 2 wickets in Auckland but his failure to contain runs was overshadowed by the success of his pace partners.
Tim Southee (6/10): Tim Southee could not emulate his performance from the Bangladesh series and against Australia. He conceded runs in and failed to contain the Australian batting in the initial stages of the game. But he bounced back well in his second spells in both games to at least stop the flow of runs if not wickets.
Trent Boult (9/10): Out of total 20 Australian wickets that were taken by the Kiwi bowlers, 8 went in his kitty. He may have conceded runs in the first game, but bounced back real hard in Hamilton wherein the opposition team had no answers to his bouncers. His varied his bowling in line, length and varied the pace well surprising the batsmen with his short deliveries.
On the other hand, Australia went down fighting in both the ODIs wherein they chased identical scores. Australia recovered from a batting collapse in the first game at Auckland chasing 287 to win, thanks to Marcus Stoinis’ 146 not out, but lost by a narrow margin of 6 runs. In the third match, Australia once again fell short as they lost by 24 runs, thus conceding the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy 2016-17 to the Kiwis. This is Australia’s second consecutive series defeat in New Zealand, as they had lost 1-2 last year as well. Devarchit Varma brings the ratings for the Australian cricket team:
Aaron Finch (5/10): He scored a crucial 56 in Australia’s chase in the third ODI, but the failure in the first game with the bat saw Finch losing the series as the stand-in captain. He was impressive with the bowling combinations in both the games, but Finch will be disappointed to oversee two close defeats which could easily have been converted into victories with his batsmen pulling in their weight.
Travis Head (8/10): He played a reckless stroke in the first ODI, which sparked Australia’s collapse which eventually resulted in a defeat. Head has been in rich form, and getting caught at third man for 5 early in a stiff chase was unbecoming of a player who has made use of all opportunities that he has got so far. However, he got his act together in the second game with a fluent half-century. He claimed 1 wicket, as Head bowled only once in two games.
Peter Handscomb (2/10): The first-ever outing for Handscomb in overseas conditions proved unrelenting. He failed twice with the bat, scoring 7 and a duck in the two completed games. He was forced to fill in as Australia did not have any other wicketkeeping option, and Handscomb’s ordinary work behind the wickets let Australia down.
Glenn Maxwell (2/10): A lot was expected from someone who has been claiming for a Test spot, but Maxwell let himself down miserably. He fell for a duck in the second game after a disappointing 20 in the first, and did not step in for Australia as a senior batsman in absence of David Warner and Steven Smith. Maxwell, for the second series in a row, did not bowl.
Shaun Marsh (2/10): He featured in both the games but returned with poor outings in Auckland (16 off 21 balls) and at Hamilton (a run-a-ball 22). Marsh spilled two catches in the first ODI, which was one of the reasons for Australia’s defeat.
Sam Heazlett (2/10): The Queensland batsman had an opportunity to make runs on a small Eden Park in Auckland, but he perished without any significant contribution. Heazlett was dropped after his poor debut in first ODI.
Marcus Stoinis (8/10): If there was one player who imposed himself all over the series, it has to be Stoinis. With his fabulous 146 not out, Stoinis presented a strong case in limited-overs cricket selection, and his 3 wickets in the first ODI bolstered his image as an all-rounder. He fought hard in the second ODI as well, but a 42-run knock was not enough once again to take Australia past the finish line.
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James Faulkner (6/10): He claimed 4 wickets but the best performance from Faulkner came in the first ODI, wherein he calmed the Australian nerves with a sturdy stand with Stoinis. Faulkner and Stoinis came together when Australia were in tatters at 67 for 6, and revived their team with an 81-run stand which was also the highest by any pair in the game.
Pat Cummins (6/10): In a series wherein Australian quicks were plundered for runs, Cummins contributed with the bat in both the games to make up. Cummins claimed 3 wickets, but that is irrelevant. In the first ODI, he smacked 5 boundaries and 1 six to score 28-ball 36 to revive Australia’s chase, and in the next Cummins contributed with 27 at No. 8 to keep their hopes alive. Cummins’ exploits with the bat would have certainly pleased the Australian management.
Mitchell Starc (5/10): For someone who had such a memorable outing the last time he played at the Eden Park in Auckland, Starc disappointed when he could bag only 1 wicket in the opening game. He let down once again in Australia’s chase by going for a stroke when he should not have. In the second ODI, he claimed 3 wickets, but gave away 63 runs. Starc played a quickfire knock of 29 at Hamilton, but his effort came in a losing cause.
Adam Zampa (3/10): He had an ordinary outing at Hamilton, as Zampa remained wicketless for his 7 overs. He played only one match on the tour.
Josh Hazlewood (3/10): A mere 3 wickets in two games does not look continuation of form for Hazlewood, who was at his peak form in the series against Pakistan at home. Hazlewood was plundered for runs, and this series will leave him with wanting to do more with the bat. His run-out in the Auckland ODI lost Australia the match.