NZ reclaim the Chappell-Hadlee

The scorecard: New Zealand 9-281 (Taylor 107, Starc 3-57) beat Australia 257 (Finch 56, Boult 6-33) by 24 runs and win the series 2-0

The match in a tweet: Brilliant Black Caps! Aussies surrender Chappell-Hadlee trophy as Taylor ton and Boult's sensational six hands Kiwis two-nil series triumph

The shock omission: All the pre-match hype had surrounded the likely inclusion of Black Caps leg-spinner Ish Sodhi, who had performed well at Seddon Park against the Australians a year ago and again loomed as a major threat in conditions expected to suit spin. Maybe it was a bluff from the Kiwis to entice the Aussies to include their own leg-spinner in Adam Zampa. Maybe it wasn't. Either way, that's exactly what happened, and Zampa bowled seven wicketless overs for 41 while the Kiwis quicks did the business. 

The knock: Take a bow, Ross Taylor. The occasionally enigmatic No.4 began the match as the only player in the contest to have an ODI ton at Seddon Park. That remained the case by day's end, while the man who must now be genuinely recognised among the Black Caps' finest-ever batsmen had also doubled his tally at the venue. In the process, he equalled Nathan Astle's 16 ODI centuries as the most by a New Zealander. The 32-year-old kick-started his innings by spanking Josh Hazlewood for three boundaries in the 19th over, pouncing on anything remotely wide or short. He quickly overtook opener Dean Brownlie in the race to a half-century, reaching the milestone from 44 balls as he at one point took Zampa for three boundaries from four deliveries. He endured a frustrating period in the back half of his innings during which he struggled to get on strike, but eventually the hundred came from 96 balls. He finished with 107 to form the backbone of the Black Caps total.

The Boult: Usain might have thrilled Aussie crowds over the past few days but across the ditch it's all about Trent. The left-arm quick is the ace up Kane Williamson's sleeve and did the business emphatically when it mattered today, claiming 6-33 – his second five-wicket haul against Australia – to lead the defence of a total that, on a nice wicket for batting, could have been considered under-par. It was career-best figures for the 27-year-old, who proved too much for the visitors with a superb performance, capped off with two wickets in his final over to end the series in style.

The consolation efforts: Aaron Finch (56 from 64) wasn't in the side a few weeks ago but he was skipper today and he made his way to a fine half-century with a typical combination of power and timing. He somehow managed to play a brute of a pull shot through mid-off from Jimmy Neesham, and capitalised on some luck when Williamson dropped a return chance from the first ball he bowled. Travis Head (53 from 72) posted a fifth ODI half-century, stroking the ball elegantly through the gaps and to the rope early in his innings before seemingly setting himself to bat deep into the run chase. It didn't pan out that way however, and both batsmen will be disappointed they failed to kick on with strong starts.

The terrific tail-enders: It's probably unfair to even call these two 'tail-enders', given their ability with the bat, so we'll instead call it a 'lower-order partnership'. And what a stand it was! With the sell-out crowd buzzing at the thought of the Chappell-Hadlee trophy imminently being presented to captain Williamson, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc came together with the score at 7-198 and proceeded to blast a 50-run stand from the 30 deliveries that followed. That included a Mitchell Santner over that went for 20, including three sixes as the pair threatened to pull off the impossible. Cummins eventually holed out for an excellent 27 (35), handing the momentum back to the hosts, but for a minute there it looked like another cliffhanger was going to come out of nowhere.

The speedster: Lockie Ferguson (0-62 from nine) was expensive but the right-arm tearaway is certainly exciting to watch. Ferguson runs in hard, bangs the ball in hard, and occasionally gets hit to the fence hard … but he also gave the Aussies a hurry up at times, cranking the speed gun up to 152.3kph at one point, while also delivering a nasty short ball to Head that followed the left-hander and crashed into glove and helmet. It was wild, thrilling stuff, if not exactly a captain's dream.

The stat: Taylor equalled Proteas champion AB de Villiers with 14 hundreds from number four – the most in ODI history.

Quick Single: Terrific Taylor equals NZ landmark

The regrets: Australia's batsmen, they had a few: Shaun Marsh wouldn't have pushed for a second run if he had his time again; Peter Handscomb may well have been more decisive early on when he hung his bat out to a Trent Boult delivery and chopped on for a duck; Aaron Finch might have avoided attempting to clear the longest boundary with the match in the balance; and Glenn Maxwell would probably have assessed the extra bounce that Mitch Santner was generating with his left-arm orthodox tweakers before looking to cut him from the third ball he faced.

The confirmation: Australia probably won't take a great deal of positives from this series but the one huge plus has been the emergence of Marcus Stoinis as a batsman. Critics who suggested the Eden Park episode was an aberration were silenced when the right-hander produced another composed hand under pressure. While he certainly didn't scale the heights of his barely believable 146no in Auckland, Stoinis' polished 42 from 48 again showed he belonged at international level. He got going with a four and a six in three balls from the bowling of Kane Williamson, crashed consecutive fours from Ferguson off the front and back foot, but ultimately picked out long-on from Santner, much to the delight of the locals.

The series wash-up: Australia cling on to their mantle of the world's No.1 ranked ODI team by a fraction of a point ahead of South Africa, but the Chappell-Hadlee trophy they'd only held since December is now back with New Zealand. The Black Caps have now won eight straight bilateral ODI series at home, stretching back to a series against South Africa in October 2014.

TEAMS

New Zealand: Tom Latham (wk), Dean Brownlie, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Neil Broom, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult

Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Travis Head, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handsomb (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, James Faulkner, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.