Captain Mitchell Marsh produced a spectacular lone hand, smashing an unbeaten 103 off 52 balls, to steer Australia to a nervy two-wicket win over New Zealand in the third and final T20I at the Bay Oval on Saturday.
With the victory, Australia sealed the three-match series 2-0, after the second game was washed out.
Marsh Stands Tall Amid Collapse
Chasing 157 for victory, Australia suffered a batting collapse, with only Mitch Owen and Sean Abbott reaching double figures as wickets tumbled around Marsh. But the skipper held firm, launching a brutal counterattack to carry his team home with two overs to spare.
The 33-year-old struck seven sixes and eight fours, reaching his maiden T20I century — his eighth international hundred overall. In doing so, Marsh joined an elite list of Australians — Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell, David Warner, Josh Inglis and Beth Mooney — to have centuries in all three formats.
It was a good one. Nice to win the series. We were under a bit of pressure at the end, and I had a bit of luck. When you’re going like that, you’ve got to keep going. I actually loved our intent with the bat — that’s how we’re playing at the moment.
Neesham’s Four-wicket Burst Keeps Kiwis in the Hunt
New Zealand allrounder James Neesham kept the contest alive with an inspired spell of 4-26, repeatedly pegging Australia back. But his efforts proved in vain as Marsh stood unshaken at one end, guiding his side past the target.
Earlier, Marsh had won the toss and opted to bowl first in a game delayed by 15 minutes due to rain. Intermittent showers also forced a brief halt after two overs, but Australia’s bowlers quickly found their rhythm.
Aussie Bowlers Set the Tone Early
Pacer Josh Hazlewood (2-26) gave Australia a perfect start, removing Devon Conway for a duck and Tim Robinson for 13.
Tim Seifert anchored the New Zealand innings with a fighting 48 off 35 balls, while skipper Michael Bracewell (26) and Neesham (25) added late momentum with a quick-fire stand, plundering 17 runs off a Marcus Stoinis over.
But the lower order crumbled under pressure as Sean Abbott (3-25) and Xavier Bartlett (2-25) cleaned up the tail, restricting the hosts to 157/9 in 20 overs.
A stunning outfield catch by Tim David to dismiss Mark Chapman added to Australia’s fielding brilliance.
Bracewell: ‘We Just Needed Marsh’s Wicket’
New Zealand skipper Michael Bracewell admitted that dismissing Marsh could have turned the game on its head.
We just needed to take that wicket of Mitch Marsh, and we could have put some real pressure on. We threw everything we could at him. Sometimes you’ve just got to tip your hat.
Brief Scores: New Zealand 157/9 in 20 overs (Tim Seifert 49, Michael Bracewell 26; Sean Abbott 3-25, Xavier Bartlett 2-25) Australia 160/7 in 18 overs (Mitchell Marsh 103*; James Neesham 4-26, Jacob Duffy 2-29) Result: Australia won by 2 wickets, clinch series 2-0.
