Christchurch [New Zealand] : Fiery spells by pace duo of Ben Sears and Matt Henry kept New Zealand alive in the second Test as Australia was left struggling at 77/4 in the pursuit of 279 runs at the end of day three of the second Test at Christchurch on Sunday.
At the end of the day’s play, Travis Head (17*) and Mitchell Marsh (27*) were unbeaten for Australia.
Kiwis started day three at 134/2, with Tom Latham (65*) and Rachin Ravindra (11*) unbeaten.
Both the left-handers took the Kiwis to the 150-run mark in 54.4 overs. They had barely managed to settle when Latham was caught behind by Alex Carey for 73 in 168 balls, with eight fours on a delivery by skipper Pat Cummins. NZ was 155/3.
Rachin was joined by all-rounder Daryl Mitchell from the other end. The duo started targetting spinner Nathan Lyon really well and were great against pace too.
Kiwis reached the 200-run mark in 67.2 overs, getting their lead over 100 runs.
Ravindra reached his second Test fifty in 96 balls, with five fours.
The duo continued to hammer Aussie bowlers and slowly brought back Kiwis into the game. A four by Rachin on a delivery by Marnus took NZ to 250-run mark in 79.5 overs. Kiwis were now leading by 156 runs.
A great delivery by Josh Hazlewood put an end to this 123-run partnership between Rachin and Mitchell, with the latter caught behind for 58 in 98 balls, with six fours and a six by Carey. NZ was 278/4. Skipper Cummins soon got the big wicket of Rachin as well, for a well-made 82 in 153 balls with 10 fours. Half of the NZ side was back in the hut for 286 runs.
Tom Blundell was next to go, cleaned up by Green for just nine runs. NZ was 296/6.
Glenn Phillips and Scott Kuggeleijn were the fresh pair on the crease and they took Kiwis beyond the 300-run mark in 93.3 overs. The lead had also gone beyond 200 runs. They put on a 53-run partnership, which ended with Phillips’ dismissal for 16 after his stumps were rattled by Lyon. NZ was 349/7.
Kiwis were bowled out for 372, with Scott being the last man out for an entertaining 44 in 49 balls, with five fours and two sixes. NZ led by 278 runs and set 279 runs for Aussies to win.
Skipper Cummins (4/62) was the pick of the bowlers for Australia, while Lyon took 3/49. Starc, Hazlewood and Green also got a wicket.
Set 279 runs to win, Australia started on a shabby note as Henry trapped Steve Smith leg-before-wicket for just nine runs, continuing his horrid run as an opener. Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green were cleaned up by Ben Sears for six and five respectively while Usman Khawaja was caught by Tim Southee for 11 on a delivery by Henry. Australia sunk to 34/4.
Australia reached 50-run mark in 16.1 overs. Head and Marsh took Australia through the remainder of the day without any further loss.
Brief Scores: New Zealand: 162 and 372 (Rachin Ravindra 82, Tom Latham 73, Pat Cummins 4/62) vs Australia: 256 and 77/4 (Mitchell Marsh 27*, Travis Head 17*, Matt Henry 2/37).
