How often have the New Zealand cricketers won hearts instead of a close match? Once again, these genial giants proved gallant in pursuit of a seemingly uphill task and left the spirited Aussies triumphant by just five runs.
On a batting beauty, if New Zealand believed it could overhaul Australia’s 388, its optimism could not be faulted. With the ball coming nicely on to the bat, short boundaries encouraged the batters to clear the ropes.
After all, the Australian openers David Warner and Travis Head had shown the way. In the evening, following Rachin Ravindra’s century, James Neesham kept the Kiwis alive in the world-record chase till the last ball. Effectively, Neesham’s run out in attempting to complete a second run off the innings’ penultimate ball proved decisive.
