Australia limp to two-wicket win after Perry's fiery fifty
New Zealand triggered a brief collapse, but it wasn't enough to secure a win
Despite Ellyse Perry coming clutch like she usually does, Australia limped their way in a chase of New Zealand's 162/2, before ekeing out a two-wicket win with seven balls to spare in Sydney in the T20I series opener. Australia were cruising until Jess Kerr dismissed Perry in the 11th, triggering a collapse. Australia went from 102/3 to 145/7 but the wobble wasn't enough for New Zealand to pull off a late heist.
New Zealand built their more-than-impressive essay on the efforts of opener Georgia Plimmer (85 off 68) and two-drop batter Maddy Green (56* off 37) as they added 127 runs off just 80 balls for the third wicket. It didn't matter that New Zealand lost Flora Devonshire in the third over and then Amelia Kerr right after the Powerplay, they found stability and flow of runs through the pair of half-centurions.
The duo got boundaries going in the middle overs, with Plimmer hitting Lucy Hamilton for a hattrick of fours in the ninth over, while Green took on Ashleigh Gardner for a couple in the following over. They took New Zealand to 108/2 in 15 overs and then got 54 off the last 30 balls. Kim Garth faced the music in the 17th over as green smashed two fours and a six.
Australia lost Georgia Voll on the second ball of chase but flew in the Powerplay through Beth Mooney and Perry, who took them to 57/1. They maintained 10-an-over after the field restrictions relaxed too, pushing the team to 85/1 in 8 overs, putting Australia well ahead of the eight-ball. Mooney was then dismissed with a run out in the ninth over while Perry fell an over after getting to a 27-ball fifty.
That wicket opened avenues for New Zealand: In the 12th over, Amelia Kerr sent Georgia Wareham packing. Annabel Sutherland hit back by smashing two fours and a six in her following over but Jess Kerr's double-wicket over in the 15th put the game back on the knife's edge. An over later, Australia were down to 150/7 - needing 13 more. The number was down to three when Mair cleaned up Sophie Molineux. It wasn't enough to spark the come from behind victory as Kim Garth saw the chase through in the 19th over.
Brief Scores: New Zealand Women 162/2 in 20 overs (Georgia Plimmer 85*, Maddy Green 56*; Annabel Sutherland 1-28) lost to Australia 165/8 in 18.5 overs (Ellyse Perry 52, Beth Mooney 38; Jess Kerr 3-25) by 2 wickets
