Australia took the series lead in the Common Wealth Bank series T20 as they beat New Zealand by six wickets at North Sydney Oval in Sydney. Australia won the toss and elected to bowl first. New Zealand set a target of 163 and Australia chased it down with 6 wickets in hand and 14 balls remaining. Meg Lanning and Rachael Haynes led them to a comfortable win in the first match.
Batting first, New Zealand lost the opener earlier in the innings. They scored at decent rate afterward but Aussies took wickets at regular intervals to keep the game in the balance during middle overs. However, Sophie Devine(43 off 33 balls) and Katey Martin helped them to post a competitive total on board. Katey scored a half-century(51* off 33 balls) with some quick runs in the final two overs along with Bernadine who remained unbeaten on 20 off 13 balls.
Australia didn’t have the perfect start for the chase as they lost four wickets within 5 overs and 45 runs on board. Haynes joined Meg Lanning then took the control of the game and had an unbeaten 119 runs partnership to take Aussies over the finishing line. Lanning scored 56 off 44 balls and Haynes 69 off 40 balls. Haynes is also the player of the match for her excellent show with the bat which took the game away from New Zealand.
Both teams will travel to Brisbane for the second T20 on Monday. New Zealand will be looking to level the series with a win in the three-match series. The third match will be on 5th October in Canberra.
