Australia have won the first Test against New Zealand in Wellington. Now, both the teams have started playing the second and final test of the series at Christchurch. Australia have won the toss and elected to field first on a pitch that assisted bowlers. Will Young(14) and Tom Latham(38) tried to see off new ball and resist Australian pacers.
But Josh Hazlewood(5/31) and Mitchell Starc(3/59) did not allow New Zealand batters to find any rhythm against moving ball. NZ got bowled out for 162 runs in 45.2 overs. In reply, Australian batters also struggled against moving ball. Steven Smith(11) and Usman Khawaja(16) got dismissed for low scores. Cameron Green(25) and Travis Head(21) could not keep up the aggressive approach.
Marnus Labuschagne did not look in any trouble when any all others faced trouble. Nathan Lyon(20) and Mitchell Starc(28) tried to give him company. But a great catch by Glenn Phillips dimissed Labuschangne(90). Later, Pat Cummins(23) tried to push the scoring but Australia got bowled out for 256 in 68 overs. Matt Henry took 7 wickets and cut short Australian lead to 94 runs.
New Zealand senior pros Kane Williamson and Tom Latham came good in the second innings. They both have put on 105 runs partnership after Will Young(1) got dismissed to Mitchell Starc. Pat Cummins dismissed dangerous Kane Williamson(51) after scoring another good half-century. Tom Latham also completed his half-century.
He is batting on 65 runs from 154 balls and Rachin Ravindra is batting on 11 runs from 36 balls. They both have to bat through the 3rd Day to give New Zealand a chance to win the game. Right now, New Zealand score is on 134/2 and have a 40-run lead over Australia. Interesting thing is that Kane Williamson and Tim Southee have completed 100 Tests with this one.
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