(Reuters) – Shuttleman Aaron Finch led the way with a 79-run outing as Australia hammered New Zealand from 50 runs in the fourth Twenty20 in Wellington yesterday to tie the series at 2-2 and set up a final match in the match.
Finch 26, including four sixes, took off the final of the Australian pubs to take their score to 156 for six, which proved more than enough to complete a comeback after losing the first two games of the series.
The New Zealand bowlers, led by Ish Sodhi 3-32, regularly scooped wickets and covered Australia fairly successfully until Finch hit Kyle Jamieson all over the ground in the final over.
Finch fired his first shot for two runs but then hit two sixes over extra cover, another straight down the ground to long range and finished off the posts with a fourth over the midwicket boundary.
The home batsmen would still have been fairly confident of chasing the runs and clicking the series but Australian bowlers put pressure on from the start.
The pubs never recovered after opener Tim Seifert, skipper Kane Williamson and Glenn Phillips were dismissed in successive rounds to leave the hosts at 41 for four.
Jamieson made some revisions with 30 runs but it was too little, too late and Australia wrapped up the victory with seven balls to spare when Kane Richardson (3-19) had him in custody for a long time to bring New Zealand pubs end at 106.
The match was organized for Eden Park in Auckland but the seven-day lockdown of New Zealand’s coronavirus resulted in a switch to Wellington Stadium, where no supporters were allowed.
Restrictions will be lifted tomorrow morning, however, to allow a crowd for the final game of the series at the same venue later in the day.