Tim David delivered a remarkable victory in the last ball of the game, hitting a boundary to help Australia successfully chase down New Zealand’s 3-215 and secure a six-wicket win.

In a thrilling match on Wednesday evening in Wellington, Australia secured victory in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy opener with a powerful shot from David towards the mid-wicket boundary, needing only four runs to win.

Captain Mitch Marsh joined David in the middle to congratulate him on his excellent performance. Marsh, who scored 72 runs off 44 balls, helped lead Australia towards the target.

David, who had scored 31 runs off 10 balls, then had a burst of success by hitting 29 runs out of the 32 needed in just nine balls for Australia.

Australia’s successful T20 chase ranks as their third-best performance, but it also resulted in an unfortunate record.

Marsh’s team was the first to allow more than 200 runs in four consecutive T20 international matches. This happened after New Zealand scored a high total, following three strong innings by the West Indies.

Every single one of the Kiwi batsmen performed well at Sky Stadium, but Rachin Ravindra stood out as the main threat, hitting six sixes in his 68 runs off 35 balls.

Fellow Wellingtonian Devon Conway (63 off 46) provided capable assistance to him in a partnership that resulted in a century.

Finn Allen, known for his aggressive batting style, led the way with 32 runs off 16 balls as the trio of New Zealand players took advantage of Australia’s spin bowlers. Both Adam Zampa (0-42 in three overs) and Glenn Maxwell (0-32 in two overs) were removed from the bowling attack.

Instead, the foursome comprising of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, and Marsh teamed up for an all-pace conclusion to the innings. However, this strategy was unsuccessful in containing the hard-hitting performances of Glenn Phillips (19 runs off 10 balls) and Mark Chapman (18 runs off 13 balls).

Australia successfully completed the task without Steve Smith, as the selectors chose to not include the 34-year-old in the playing eleven.

Uncertainty remains regarding the veteran’s participation in his fourth T20 World Cup, as this series serves as Australia’s final preparation before the June event.

Source: theguardian.com