Stoinis, Australia fall agonisingly short in photo finish

New Zealand emerged victorious by six runs as the Black Caps managed to deny centurion Marcus Stoinis and Australia an incredible win in the opening one-day international.

Published : Jan 30, 2017 09:23 IST , Auckland

Josh Hazlewood's run out at the non-strikers end in the 47th over broke Australian hearts. 
Josh Hazlewood's run out at the non-strikers end in the 47th over broke Australian hearts. 
lightbox-info

Josh Hazlewood's run out at the non-strikers end in the 47th over broke Australian hearts. 

New Zealand emerged victorious by six runs as the Black Caps managed to deny centurion Marcus Stoinis and Australia an incredible win in the opening one-day international.

Set 287 for victory in Auckland on Monday, Stoinis silenced the Eden Park crowd with a sensational unbeaten 146-run knock but his efforts were in vein as Josh Hazlewood was run out at the non-strikers end in the 47th over. 

It appeared to be a matter of when not if for New Zealand when Australia slumped to 67-6, however, Stoinis led an unlikely comeback in just his second ODI appearance, with captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and stand-in skipper Matthew Wade absent.

>Full scorecard and ball-by-ball details

After leading Australia's bowling attack with three wickets, Stoinis - who should have been run out by Williamson late in the innings while he was also dropped by the skipper - then hit New Zealand's bowlers all over the park with nine boundaries and 11 sixes, almost singlehandedly lifting the visitor to victory until tailender Hazlewood was dramatically caught out by captain Kane Williamson for a diamond duck without facing a ball.

While Stoinis starred, his team-mates struggled as Pat Cummins (36), James Faulkner (25), Glenn Maxwell (20) and Shaun Marsh (16) were the only other players to make it into double-figures.

Mitchell Santner was the pick of the Kiwi bowlers with 3-44, while Lockie Ferguson (2-44), Trent Boult (2-58), Tim Southee (1-63) and Colin Munro (1-20) chipped in.

Earlier day, Stoinis helped limit New Zealand to 286-9 and prevent the Black Caps from creating any real momentum.

Stoinis (3-49) claimed the scalps of opener Martin Guptill (61) and Williamson (24), beating both batsmen for pace.

After Tom Latham (4) fell cheaply to Mitchell Starc (1-59) in the third over, Guptill and Williamson teamed up and looked to have settled until the latter hit a shot to backward point as the Kiwis were reduced to 87-2.

Guptill and Ross Taylor (16) also shared a promising stand before part-time spinner Travis Head (1-21) coaxed the latter into dragging his shot onto the stumps, with the former joining him in the pavilion the very next over after he was bowled by Stoinis.

Stoinis continued to cause problems as he dismissed Colin Munro (2), with the Black Caps losing 6-3 in a devastating period for the visitors.

However, Broom and James Neesham stemmed the tide after seeing New Zealand slump to 134-5.

The duo led the rescue job, putting on 76 runs for the sixth wicket to power the hosts past 200 runs.

Neesham - who survived a caught-behind decision after a review showed the ball did not hit the bat - fell short of a third ODI half-century when he was caught by Head off the bowling of Hazlewood (1-48).

Cummins (2-67) then took care of Santner (7) and Southee (0) as he cleaned up the tail, before Faulkner (1-29) ended Broom's innings in the penultimate over, with Boult finishing unbeaten on 16 off seven deliveries.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment