New Zealand dominating 2020/21 season.
The New Zealand Cricket Team ended the 2020/21 season on a
high crushing Bangladesh by 65 runs in a rain-curtailed 3rd T20I
played at Eden Park, Auckland.
In a match reduced to 10 overs a side, Bangladeshi stand-in
captain Liton Das won the toss and decided to field first. Martin Guptill and
Fabien Allen provided a flying start putting pressure on the Bangladeshi
bowlers. It was an amazing partnership between the Kiwis openers scoring 85 runs
off 34 balls to lay a strong foundation. Allen showed his class and completed
his maiden T20I half-century off just 18 balls. It was an amazing batting
effort by the hosts as they posted 141 for 4 in the allotted 10 overs.
The Kiwis bowlers kept on picking wickets at regular
intervals and bowled out Bangladesh for a paltry 76. Southee grabbed 3 for 15
while Todd Astle took 4 for 13. It was a dominating performance by New Zealand
registering a commanding 65 runs win. For 71 off 29 balls, Allen was awarded
the man of the match while Glenn Philips named the man of the series award.
Test series against West Indies and Pakistan
After the coronavirus pandemic, New Zealand hosted West
Indies for a two-Test match series. It was a dominating performance by the Kiwis
who outplayed the visitors by winning both matches easily.
In the opening Test match at Seddon Park, Hamilton from 3rd
December, thanks to a captain knock of 251 by Kane Williamson, 86 by Latham,
Kyle Jamieson 51* helped Kiwis declare their innings on 519 for 7. The Kiwis
bowlers wreaked havoc by skittling West Indies in both innings winning the
match by an innings and 134 runs. For his 251, Williamson was awarded the man
of the match.
The second Test match was another dominating performance by
the Kiwis team registering an innings and 12 runs win played at Basin Reserve,
Wellington from 11th December. Henry Nicholls 174 along with
valuable contributions by Young, Mitchell, Jamieson, New Zealand posted 460
runs in the first innings.
A superb bowling effort by Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee
bowled out West Indies for a paltry total of 131 in the first innings. Despite
a much better effort by West Indies in the second innings, Kiwis bowlers stuck
to their guns and bowled out the visitors for 317. For his 174, Henry Nicholls
was awarded the man of the match while Kyle Jamieson was awarded the man of the
series.
New Zealand then took on Pakistan in another two Test
matches series. It was a very closely fought opening Test match going down to
the wire winning it by 101 runs.
After being into bat, Kiwis struggled initially before Williamson 129, Ross Taylor 70, Henry Nicholls 56, Watling 73 helped New Zealand post 460 runs in the first innings. It was a great bowling effort by New Zealand bowling out Pakistan for 239 despite Mohammad Rizwan 71 and Faheem Ashraf’s 91.,
New Zealand played with an attacking approach and declared their second innings on 180 for 5. With things looking control on the final day for Pakistan, Kiwi’s pacers made vital breakthroughs. Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi almost took Pakistan home but a superb one-handed return catch by Santer on his bowling resulted in a 101 runs win. For his 129 runs in the first innings, Williamson was awarded the man of the match. With this win, New Zealand qualified for the finals of the ICC World Test Championship.
It was a dominating performance by Kiwis in the second Test
match. After dismissing Pakistan for 297 runs in the first innings, the hosts
declared their innings on a massive total of 659 for 6. Thanks to a superb
bowling effort, Kiwis bowled out Pakistan for 186 to register an innings and
176 runs win. Kyle Jamieson was awarded the man of the match for his bowling
efforts while Kane Williamson was named the man of the series award.
Limited overs series
The season started with a 3 match T20I series against West
Indies. In the opening match played at Eden Park, Auckland, West Indies posted
a competitive total of 180 for 7 in 16 overs but a great batting display by
Devon Conway scoring 41, James Neesham 48, and Mitchell Santer unbeaten partnership
helped Kiwis register 5 wicket win.
In the second T20I played at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui on 29th
November, thanks to a 184 runs partnership between Conway and Phillips, Kiwis
posted a massive total of 238 for 3. Phillips made 108 off 51 balls while
Conway remained not out on 65. New Zealand restricted West Indies to 166 for 9
in 20 overs to register a thumping 72 runs win. The third and final T20I was abandoned
due to heavy rains.
New Zealand then took on Pakistan in a three-match T20I
series. In the opening match played at Eden Park, Auckland on 18th
December, Kiwis register a 5 wicket win. Jacob Duffy on his debut bowled a dream
spell taking 4 for 33 along with Scott Kugglein 3 for 27, New Zealand
restricted Pakistan to 153 for 9 in 20 overs. In reply, the hosts chased down this
target easily with 7 balls to spare.
The hosts delivered another dominating performance in the 2nd
T20I match played at Seddon Park, Hamilton winning it by 9 wickets. Despite a
brilliant 99 not out by Mohammed Hafeez, Pakistan posted 163 for 6 in 20 overs.
In reply, Williamson and Guptill's partnership ensured that Kiwis won the match
easily with 4 balls to spare.
New Zealand lost the 3rd T20I match played at McLean
Park, Napier on 22nd December. Despite Conway’s 63, Seifert 35, and Philips
31, the Kiwis posted 173 for 7 in 20 overs. Mohammad Rizwan played a great knock
scoring 89 off 59 balls along with Hafeez 41 off 29 balls, Pakistan won the
match by 4 wickets with 2 balls to spare.
Tim Seifert was awarded the man of the series while Mohammad
Rizwan was named the man of the series.
New Zealand then defeated Australia in a 5 match T20I series.
It was a great start by Kiwis as they won the first 2 matches. The first match saw
a dominating performance winning the match easily and then register a thriller in
the second one winning it by 4 runs. Despite Stoinis and Sams's brilliance, Kiwis
held their nerves to go 2-0 up.
The Australian team made a strong comeback by winning the
next two matches easily by 64 runs and 50 runs respectively to set up the decider. New
Zealand proved their domination by winning the decider by 7 wickets with 27 balls.
For his 71 off 46 balls, Guptill was awarded the man of the match while Ish
Sodhi was named the man of the series for his 13 wickets.
New Zealand proved its domination by whitewashing
Bangladesh in the ODI series and T20I series. Devon Conway making his ODI debut
in the series was awarded the man of the series.
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