CT 2017, Australia vs New Zealand, 2nd Game, Review: Williamson's century went in vain as rain had the last laugh

It was the second match of the ICC Champions Trophy where the World Champions Australia took on the neighbors New Zealand at Edgbaston, Birmingham. The Trans-Tasman rivalry has produced some of the most amazing cricketing action and this one was building up to be one of those. The Kiwi innings saw a masterclass from Kane Williamson and record figures from Josh Hazlewood. But they were denied by the multiple rain interruptions that ultimately forced the match to be abandoned.

The Kiwis won the toss and elected to bat first on a day which was under the threat of consistent showers. The openers Martin Guptill and Luke Ronchi began on a positive note and went after the Aussie quicks. The score read 38 after 5 overs but Guptill went back in the 6^th over for 26 courtesy Josh Hazlewood. The skipper Kane Williamson joined Ronchi in the middle and hit the stripes immediately. Ronchi, at the other end, kept the run rate going as the score reached 67 in the 10^th over.

The rain gods decided to interrupt for the first time and the players had to walk off. After a gap of almost 2 hours, the play resumed with the match reduced to 46 overs a side. The interruption didn’t make any difference to Ronchi as he was adamant on keeping the rate up. He brought up his fifty off just 33 balls in the 14^th over. His blitz came to an end in the 16^th when in the bid to go for another big one, he held out for 65 off 43 balls with 9 fours and 3 sixes as a partnership of 77 ended.

Ross Taylor walked in when Williamson had got his eye in. The duo played with caution and took the score to 158/2 after 25 overs. The skipper got to his fifty off 62 balls and kept on building the platform. He began to open up and struck a four and a six to John Hastings in the 34^th over. But when Taylor tried to emulate that, he was dismissed by the bowler in the same over for 46.

Williamson went on the attack post that and reached his 9^th ODI century off 96 balls in the 39th over. Just as he reached the landmark, he lost his wicket as he fell short of the crease at the non-striker’s end and got run out for 100 off 97 balls with 8 fours and 3 sixes. His wicket opened the floodgates for the Kiwis and they lost wickets in heaps. The following batsmen could score just 34 runs off the last 6 overs as Josh Hazlewood did the damage. He ended up with 6 wickets for 52 in 9 overs as New Zealand were bowled out for 291 in 45 overs.

Just as the players walked off the field, the rain again took center stage. After more than an hour of no play, the Australian openers walked in with a revised target of 235 from 33 overs. The New Zealand pacers began well and conceded just 19 runs against the explosive David Warner and Aaron Finch. Warner hit a six in the 5^th over but was removed by Trent Boult in the next for 18. The captain Steven Smith came out and hit 2 delightful boundaries in the same over and looked in ominous touch.

The other opener Finch didn’t last too long and fell to Adam Milne for 8 off 18 balls in the 7^th over. The new man Moises Henriques showed signs of form as he struck 4 fours in quick succession. But as he looked like bringing Australia back in the game, he too made his way back to the pavilion for 18 in the 9^th over. But after his dismissal, it was the turn of the showers to mark the presence yet again.

This time, there was no relent and forced the match to be called off without any further play. The Australian score was 53/3 after 9 overs. For the result to be announced by the Duckworth-Lewis method, a minimum of 20 overs were required which wasn’t the case. The match ended in no result and both teams shared a point each. Australia would be relieved as they were lagging behind the required run-rate and would grab the one point with both hands. On the other hand, New Zealand must be disappointed as they were sitting pretty and were the favorites to win the game at that stage.

Brief Scores:

New Zealand- 291 all out in 45 overs (Kane Williamson 100, Luke Ronchi 65; Josh Hazlewood 6/52)

Australia- 53 for 3 in 9 overs (David Warner 18; Adam Milne 2/9)

Match abandoned due to rain.