Twitter Reactions: Guptill, Boult, Sodhi help New Zealand topple Australia to a series triumph

New Zealand, after being on the driver’s seat in the T20Is against Australia, found themselves in trouble, losing the third and fourth game. With the series locked 2-2, the final game at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington was a must-win affair for both. In the end, it was the Black Caps, who managed to clinch the series, winning the match by seven wickets with 27 balls to spare.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, the Aussies set a decent platform for themselves, scoring 74 runs in the first 10 overs. Aaron Finch (36) and Matthew Wade (44) had gotten their eyes in. However, both perished in quick succession and the visitors couldn’t inject any momentum into their innings. Marcus Stoinis scored 26 with two fours and a six, but he couldn’t score beyond a run-a-ball.

Guptill joins in after bowlers perform for New Zealand: 

For the Kiwis, Ish Sodhi was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets. Trent Boult and Tim Southee picked up two wickets each while Mitchell Santner had an economy of 5.20, though he couldn’t make a breakthrough. In their run-chase, the Black Caps got off to a blazing start courtesy of a 106-run stand for the opening wicket between Devon Conway (36) and Martin Guptill (71).

Kane Williamson couldn’t open his account, but Glenn Phillips’ unbeaten 16-ball 34 made sure that the hosts chase 143 down in 15.3 overs. Riley Meredith, who made his international debut in the series, was the pick of the Aussie bowlers with two wickets. Following the series loss, Finch, the Aussie skipper, admitted that his team couldn’t garner enough runs on the board.

“We probably weren’t aggressive enough with the bat. We let them dictate terms and didn’t get enough runs. Probably was the difference in the game. If one of us kicked on, could have got to 160-170. I thought the pitch played quite well today,” Finch stated after the game.

Williamson, the home team’s skipper, talked about the cut-throat competition in the series. “Incredibly hard-fought series. Momentum shifts throughout. Outstanding to pick up some of those learnings that we were trying to in the series. It’s about the cricket that we want to play. We know how strong a side Australia is. We just wanted to improve our game,” Williamson said.

Here’s how the netizens reacted to New Zealand’s series win: