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Sports Desk: Veteran batsman Martin Guptill returned to form with a blistering 97 as New Zealand held on for a nail-biting win over Australia in the second Twenty20 international in Dunedin on Thursday.<\/p>\nSports Desk: Veteran batsman Martin Guptill returned to form with a blistering 97 as New Zealand held on for a nail-biting win over Australia in the second Twenty20 international in Dunedin on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Guptill's Black Caps set Australia a challenging target of 220 after losing the toss but were made to sweat as Australia came within four runs of victory.<\/p>\n
Both sides took advantage of University Oval's short boundaries in a thrilling match that featured 30 sixes and 434 runs at an average of 10.9 an over.<\/p>\n
Marcus Stoinis starred for the Australians with 78 from 37 balls but Guptill's 97 from 50 laid the foundation for New Zealand's win.<\/p>\n
Black Caps spinner Mitchell Santner also shone amid the batting fireworks, taking four for 31, while Australian paceman Kane Richardson managed three for 43.<\/p>\n
New Zealand allrounder Jimmy Neesham was another exceptional performer, taking two wickets in the final over when a rampant Australia needed 15 runs for victory.<\/p>\n
Neesham also scored an undefeated 45, including six sixes.<\/p>\n
The result puts New Zealand 2-0 up in the five-match series, on the brink of a shock win over the world's second-ranked Twenty20 team.<\/p>\n
Guptill's innings gave him the record for the most sixes in Twenty20 internationals with 132, taking him past India's Rohit Sharma on 127.<\/p>\n
The 34-year-old clubbed the ball over the boundary eight times, bludgeoning all comers in the Australian attack.<\/p>\n
He fell just short of his third Twenty20 century after being caught trying to hit a Daniel Sams delivery out of the ground.<\/p>\n
– Steady Williamson –<\/p>\n
Guptill averaged only 17 in the recent series against the West Indies and Pakistan, then managed just 11.5 in the domestic competition before picking up a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n
Pressure on the opener intensified when he made a duck in the first match against Australia on Monday, with calls for uncapped Finn Allen to join the squad.<\/p>\n
But he answered his critics with a return to his big-hitting best, bringing up 50 off 27 balls, with eight boundaries, including four sixes.<\/p>\n
Guptill insisted he had not changed his approach during the game-turning innings.<\/p>\n
“I just went out and tried to do the best I could — fortunately for me it came off,” he said.<\/p>\n
While Guptill provided fireworks at one end, Kane Williamson was steady at the other, scoring 53 off 35 balls.<\/p>\n
Australia made a solid start in reply, despite skipper Aaron Finch continuing to struggle for runs when he was dismissed for 12.<\/p>\n
The tourists were 87 for two at the halfway mark, with rookie batsman Josh Philippe scoring 45 from 32 balls.<\/p>\n
He departed as part of a mid-innings collapse that saw Mitch Marsh and Ashton Agar out for first-ball ducks as Santner claimed three wickets in an over.<\/p>\n
Stoinis and Daniel Sams came together with Australia looking shaky at 113 for six but staged a remarkable fightback, putting on a 92-run partnership that put victory in Australia's grasp.<\/p>\n
But the heroics from Stoinis and Sams — who scored 41 from 15 balls — were not enough to get Australia over the line.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sports Desk: Veteran batsman Martin Guptill returned to form with a blistering 97 as New Zealand held on for a nail-biting win over Australia in the second Twenty20 international in Dunedin on Thursday. Guptill’s Black Caps set Australia a challenging target of 220 after losing the toss but were made to sweat as Australia came […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n