A spirited performance saw New Zealand trounce arch-rivals Australia by a handsome margin of 89 runs in the opening clash of the Super 12s of the T20 World Cup 2022. The match took place at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Saturday (October 22).
After being put to bat first, New Zealand openers Devon Conway and Finn Allen got off to a flying start, amassing 56 runs in just four overs. Australia tried to cash in on Kane Williamson's struggles but Conway kept the scoreboard ticking with some outstanding strokeplay.
The southpaw paced his innings perfectly and batted throughout the 20 overs to take his side's tally to 200/3 - New Zealand's highest T20I total in T20 World Cups. In the process, Conway scored a fantastic 92* off 58 balls.
The target was always going to be an arduous one for Australia. Unfortunately, for the hosts, their batting unit just didn't turn up as they lost wickets at regular intervals. No Aussie batter went past the 30-run mark as Glenn Maxwell's 21-ball 28 was the highest individual score for Australia.
For New Zealand, Tim Southee and Mitchell Santner picked up three wickets each as Australia were bundled out for 111 in 17.1 overs.
The lopsided match saw a slew of records get broken. For starters, with their 89-run humbling, Australia have now faced their biggest defeat in the T20 World Cup.
On that note, let's take a look at the three other records that were shattered during New Zealand's historic win over Australia in Sydney.
#3 New Zealand registers their first white-ball win against Australia in Australia since 2009
With their thumping and comprehensive win on Saturday, New Zealand have now registered their first-ever white-ball victory against Australia in Australia since 2009.
Prior to this game, New Zealand's last white-ball win against Australia in Australia came in a one-day international game when the Kiwi unit beat the Aussie by six wickets in Hobart in February 2009.
Interestingly, the 89-run win today was New Zealand's first-ever T20I win in Australia.
#2 Devon Conway now has the highest T20I individual score against Australia in Australia
Kiwi opener Devon Conway put on a masterclass in the first innings and carried his bat to score a brilliant 58-ball 92, clobbering seven fours and two sixes.
En route to his knock, the left-hander broke several milestones, including notching up the highest T20I individual score against Australia down under. He went past Virat Kohli's 90*, which the former Indian skipper scored in Adelaide in 2016.
This wasn't Kohli's only record that Conway surpassed, as the Kiwi wicket-keeper overtook Kohli to become the joint-second-fastest batter to register 1000 T20I runs (by innings).
Conway reached the 1000-run mark in his 26th innings, joining Babar Azam in the second spot. While Kohli achieved the feat after 27 innings, Dawid Malan did it inside 24 innings and is still the fastest T20I batter to score 1000 runs.
#1 Tim Southee is now the highest wicket-taker in T20 internationals
Kiwi veteran Tim Southee finished with figures of 3/6, which proved vital to restricting Australia. The right-armer got two key wickets of David Warner and Mitchell Marsh early on before dismissing Pat Cummins.
Following his brilliant spell, Southee achieved a significant personal landmark as became the leading wicket-taker in the Twenty20 internationals. Southee surpassed Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan’s tally of 122 wickets when he scalped David Warner with his first ball during Australia’s 201-run chase.
Southee now has 125 T20I wickets to his name in 101 matches, while Shakib will be eager to catch up with him.
The 33-year-old also became New Zealand’s leading wicket-taker in the T20 World Cup, surpassing Nathan McCullum's 23 scalps. The Kiwi pacer has now taken 25 wickets in his T20 World Cup career.
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