Twitter Reactions: Martin Guptill and James Neesham shine as New Zealand beat Australia in a thriller

James Neesham held his nerve and defended 14 runs in the last over as New Zealand registered a thrilling 4-run win over Australia in the second T20I in Dunedin on Thursday (February 25). Chasing a mammoth total of 220, Australia were in a precarious position before recovering but eventually ended up on 215 for 8.

Matthew Wade and Aaron Finch gave the visitors a swift start by adding 34 runs before Tim Southee gave New Zealand the first breakthrough by dismissing the former for 24. Finch was then joined in the middle by Josh Philippe and the duo took the score past the 50-run mark. Finch, however, looked like a pale shadow of his usual self before Ish Sodhi ended his painful 14-ball 12 runs stay at the crease.

The dismissal took place just when Australia were gaining some momentum triggered a collapse as the visitors lost four wickets in the space of four and a half overs. Glenn Maxwell was the first to depart, scoring just three before Philippe (45 off 32) joined him in the hut too. Ashton Agar and Mitchell Marsh went for first-ball ducks to leave their side reeling at 113 for 6.

Collapse and recovery but New Zealand hold on for a win:

The collapse meant Australia were reduced from 70 for 2 after eight overs to 113 for 6 after the 13th. Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner (4 for 31) was the destructor-in-chief, claiming three wickets at a cost of six runs in the last of his allotted four overs. At that stage, it looked all over for the tourists before Marcus Stoinis (78 off 37) and Daniel Sams (41 off 15) joined hands.

The duo shared a record 92-run stand and took Australia on the verge of a miraculous win but failed to deliver the killer blow. Stoinis and Sams entered the final over with 15 runs needed off Neesham. But on the very first delivery, Sams miscued a full toss to Glenn Phillips at deep mid-wicket. The next two balls did not yield any runs before Stoinis hit the fourth ball for a six to bring down the equation to 9 off 2 balls.

However, he top-edged the next delivery to Southee at long-on as Australia’s hopes ended. Jhye Richardson hit the last ball for a four but the fate of the game was already sealed. Earlier in the game, Martin Guptill roared back to form with a stunning knock of 97 off 50 balls to power New Zealand to 219 for 7.

Skipper Kane Williamson also played a fine 53-run knock off 25 balls. But it was Neesham’s innings that helped New Zealand recover from a collapse towards the end and post 219. He smashed an unbeaten 45 off just 16 balls to guide his team to the big total.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the game: