Australia wrapped up the series against New Zealand as they won by 116 runs in the second ODI here at the Manuka Oval. An unassailable 2-0 lead going into the third ODI means Australia can experiment a bit with their line-up.
The credit for the series win largely goes to a sensational Steven Smith, who followed up his 164 in Sydney with a 72 off 76 balls here, combining with centurion, David Warner, for a 145 run stand that formed the platform for Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head to launch Australia to 378.
New Zealand started the chase well with Williamson and Neesham almost matching Warner and Smith with a 125 run partnership. But once the duo were separated, Cummins ran through the lower order to script a fine win for the Aussies.
Here are the talking points from the game.
#5 Warner's sixth hundred of the year
David Warner continued his dominating form in ODIs in 2016 with yet another century, his sixth in ODIs this year. It was a superb knock highlighted by his driving down the ground and superb running between the wickets.
His 115-ball-119 and 145-run partnership with Steven Smith formed the backbone of Australia's highest total in ODIs this year. He gave no chances to the bowlers or the fielders as he plundered 14 hits to the fence and one over it in 36.1 overs at the crease.
With this knock, Warner has maintained a safe distance from Steven Smith, who is a close second, as the highest run-scorer in ODIs in 2016.
#2 Mitchell Marsh comes to the party
Marsh bowled some handy medium pacers in Sydney as the first change seamer. Here he exhibited his batting talents with a furious 76 off 40 balls that included seven sixes.
Walking in to bat in the 40th over, when the Australian score read 248/3, Marsh played a cameo innings that propelled Australia to their highest total this year. He helped to add 126 runs in the last 10 overs.
Marsh has been heavily criticised this summer for his lack of runs with the bat. While he needs to carry on this form, this innings is a good start in reclaiming his position as Australia's no.1 all-rounder.
#3 Australia drop highest ODI wicket taker of the year
Australia started the game by dropping Adam Zampa, who is the highest wicket-taker in 2016 with 30 wickets in 19 games at an average of 27.8. The numbers did not seem to catch the eye of Australian coach and selectors, who decided to give Faulkner a game ahead of Zampa.
Faulkner did not get to bat and was expensive with the ball, giving 69 runs in his 8 overs but he did pick up the wicket of Colin Munro. While Faulkner possibly deserved a game, it was harsh to drop Zampa, who has been pretty impressive with the ball this year in ODIs and T20s.
Interestingly, Australia had also dropped Hastings for this series, who was, before the start of this series, the highest wicket taker in the year and still remains second to Zampa with 29 wickets this year.
#2 Neesham's day gets better
New Zealand have always shown a tendency to play James Neesham in the top order by promoting him whenever there is an opportunity. With Ross Taylor out injured in this series, Neesham has been given a chance at 4 and promptly made a superb 74 off 83 balls today.
He had started the game poorly with his one over costing 12 runs. He was not given a chance to redeem himself with the ball but when the opportunity presented itself with the bat, Neesham was up to the task.
He forged a 125-run stand with skipper, Williamson, and at that stage, Kiwis looked very much in the game. Once Neesham was dismissed by Hazlewood, however, the game quickly turned Australia's way.
#1 Cummins is back!
Pat Cummins last played a first-class match in the Sheffield Shield in 2011, even before Jackson Bird had made his First-class debut. He has been injured for a major part of his career and there were talks about including him in the Tests against Pakistan as soon as he was named in the ODI team.
There are still doubts about whether he can last a Test match without getting injured. For all the rumours, Cummins came up with a stirring display of pace bowling here at the Manuka Oval with a 4/41, wrecking New Zealand's chase with late wickets, including that of their skipper.
Cummins may not get the nod in Tests until he plays a Shield game, but he went a long way in showing that his bowling is still as good as it was when he made a spectacular debut in 2011.
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