ICC World Cup 2019: Match 37, New Zealand vs Australia, Review – Stubborn Aussies make the Kiwis wait another day

“What do we say to confirming your place in the semifinals?” – Not Today! That’s how the Kiwis are working right now as their defeat to Australia will make them wait longer to see if they qualify to the semifinals or not. Going by their net run-rate, it would take a miraculous turn of events to knock them out, but that still is a possibility.

The game kick-started with two maiden overs from Trent Boult and Colin de Grandhomme. The attacking Aussie opening duo found it very difficult to counter the new ball threat and never got going. Boult ended Aaron Finch’s struggle in the fifth over by trapping him in front of the stumps whilst Lockie Ferguson removed David Warner with a sharp short delivery off the first ball of his spell.

Ferguson soon picked up Steve Smith courtesy a mind-boggling grab at leg-gully from Martin Guptill. Marcus Stoinis and Usman Khawaja kept ticking away with runs to navigate through the initial danger and although Stoinis couldn’t stay long, he ensured Khawaja got going. Glenn Maxwell failed once again in the middle order with Jimmy Neesham dismissing him in the 22nd over.

Australia just had 92 runs on the board and looked in a very precarious situation, but wicketkeeper-batsman Alex Carey once again rose to the occasion. The 27-year-old played some delightful cricketing shots to get going and the partnership between him and Khawaja grew from strength to strength. Both batsmen completed their fifties in a span of few overs and their partnership accounted for 107 runs.

Carey, having played a brilliant and aggressive knock, was dismissed for 71 and the Kiwis took control back in the final few overs. Khawaja did stick around till the last over, only to become the first victim of Trent Boult’s historic hat-trick. Boult then dismissed Starc and Behrendorff to become the first New Zealander to pick up a hat-trick in World Cups. Aussies finished with 243 runs for the loss of 9 wickets.

Kiwis succumb to some quality fast bowling

Martin Guptill and Henry Nicholls just couldn’t get going and they decided to go the cautious way. Unfortunately for the Kiwis, their approach turned out to be a little too cautious, which eventually killed their chances. Jason Behrendorff was bowling brilliantly and picked up Henry Nicholls for just 8.

Martin Guptill batted for 43 deliveries to score just 20 runs and eventually was dismissed by Behrendorff again. Aaron Finch went all-out with his fast bowling options, making Behrendorff bowl 9 overs in the first 20 overs. Just when a partnership was developing between Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, he turned to Mitchell Starc and the big man reciprocated immediately.

Starc dismissed Williamson and from then, it was a nightmare for the Kiwis in the middle. They just couldn’t get hold of the bowlers and struggled to stay relevant in the game. Boundaries vanished but wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals. Steve Smith picked up his first ODI wicket in five years to dismiss Colin de Grandhomme for a first ball duck and the Kiwis just fell apart.

Starc was too hot to handle for the likes of Ish Sodhi and Lockie Ferguson, who surrendered off consecutive deliveries and although there was a chance for a hat-trick, Boult defended the delivery. It didn’t take long for the five-time champions to get the final wicket as they sealed a brilliant 86-run win. Mitchell Starc completed yet another five-fer in his glorious limited overs career to finish things off for the Aussies.

Brief Scores

Australia: 243/9 in 50 overs (Usman Khawaja 88, Alex Carey 71; Trent Boult 4/51)

New Zealand: 157 all out in 43.4 overs (Kane Williamson 40; Mitchell Starc 4/26, Jason Behrendorff 2/31)

Result: Australia won by 86 runs

Man of the match: Mitchell Starc