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Australia managed to reach a mammoth total of 388 in the first innings of the 27th match of the 2023 World Cup against New Zealand on Saturday (October 28) at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.
The Aussie batters received some support from the Kiwi fielders as they were really poor on the field today.
The New Zealand captain won the toss and opted to bowl first in the contest. David Warner (81) and Travis Head (109) went on a rampage and put on 175 runs in 19 overs to give Australia a scintillating start. Head received a couple of reprieves as Santner and Glenn Philips dropped his catches. He made full use of the lifelines and smashed a magnificent century.
All the Kiwis' frontline bowlers went for a lot of runs. Part-timer Glenn Phillips gave New Zealand much-needed breakthroughs by dismissing both the openers. He also scalped the wicket of Steve Smith after a while to end up with three wickets.
Glenn Maxwell (41), Josh Inglis (38), and Pat Cummins (37) played blazing cameos in the death overs to take Australia to a massive total after a dull period in the middle overs.
New Zealand are usually considered as one of the top fielding units. However, they struggled with catching and ground fielding on Saturday and let Australia score way too many runs. Fans observed the same and expressed their reactions through X.
Here are some of the best reactions:
"I think 388 is a really good score" - Australia opener Travis Head after his century against New Zealand
At the mid-innings break, Australian opener Travis Head reflected on the action that unfolded in the first innings and said:
"(What pleased him most?) To be back playing. Nice to be back with the boys. It felt nice to contribute and nice to be back. (How's his hand?) It's going well, it went well today. We're on track which is nice. Very good wicket."
On his sensational opening partnership with David Warner, Head added:
"Davey and I throughout that partnership tried to put as much pressure as we can, we were able to get away today, take our chances and then also go on and make a really big partnership to set that platform.
"We were able to do that today. I think 388 is a really good score. I felt at the back end of my innings, it started taking a little bit more spin. The changes of pace helped them with a bit more spin there.
Do you think the Kiwis team can chase down this target? Let us know in the comments section below.
