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Acknowledging that his side came up short in all three aspects against bitter trans-Tasman rivals Australia after the latter swept the three-match T20I series on Sunday, New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner said the hosts were not able to soak up the pressure during their turn with the bat.
Australia clinched a 27-run win against the Kiwis in the 3rd T20I at Eden Park in Auckland. "They are a quality side, they showed us the power they possess throughout the series. We showed some good stuff, we came back well with the ball. We couldn't soak up the pressure with the bat. Dropped catches don't help either. The depth of the squad is good, we'll have a few guys coming back in. Some good stuff to take from this series, some bad stuff as well," Santner said in the post-match presentation. With the series already lost, the Aussies heaped further misery on the hosts, opener Travis Head gave the visitors a headstart, smacking 33 off 30 balls. However, the opening partnership produced just 16 runs with rival skipper Santner sending back the talismanic Steve Smith for 4 in the second over. Matthew Short (27 runs from 11 balls) shone with the bat along with Head, with the duo coming together for an enterprising partnership of 51 runs. However, Ben Sears removed Short in the 6th over. The right-hander belted 1 four and 3 sixes, scoring his runs at a strike rate of 245.45. Glenn Maxwell (20 runs from 9 balls) produced a typically explosive knock, lending further momentum to the innings. Maxwell was dismissed by Josh Clarkson in the 9th over. In the 10th over, Santner removed Head to slow Australia's run rate. Head smashed 5 fours and 1 six with a strike rate of 110.00. Josh Inglis (14* runs from 8 balls) and Tim David (8* runs from 3 balls) were on the crease and took the Aussies at 118/4. However, the game was stopped just after the fourth ball of the 11th over as rain played a spoilsport. The second inning was shortened to a 10-over run chase and the DLS revised target for Kiwis was 126. Finn Allen (13 runs from 9 balls) and Will Young (14 runs from 7 balls) opened for New Zealand but could not make a mark during the run chase. Matthew Short bagged his first after he removed Young in the second over. The Kiwi opener smashed 2 fours and 1 six with a strike rate of 200.00. Tim Seifert (2 runs from 5 balls) came on the crease to replace Young. But he found it difficult to score runs later in the third over Seifert was removed by Spencer Johnson in the third over. Adam Zampa bagged his maiden wicket of the game after he removed Allen in the sixth over. Glenn Phillips (40* runs from 24 balls) and Mark Chapman (17* runs from 15 balls) tried to chase down the target but ran out of balls and had to concede a disappointing series loss with a 27-run loss in the third T20I match. Short, Johnson, and Zampa were the only wicket-takers for the Aussies in the second inning. The victory against New Zealand in the 3rd 20-over match also marked Australia's 100th T20I win, which will help the Kangaroos for the upcoming T20 World Cup. (ANI)
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