Kiwis hold nerve despite epic Stoinis-Sams stand

A record seventh-wicket stand between allrounders Marcus Stoinis and Daniel Sams carried Australia to the brink of an heroic last-gasp win before New Zealand held their nerve – and a couple of clutch catches – in the final over to snare a four-run victory and take a 2-0 lead in the five-match T20I series.

On the back of opener Martin Guptill's stunning return to form, the Black Caps posted 7-219 and looked to have the game in their keeping before Stoinis and Sams launched a blistering counter-attack in the late-afternoon Dunedin sunshine.

The pair's partnership of 92 from 37 balls came after the dismissals of Ashton Agar and Mitchell Marsh for first-ball ducks from consecutive deliveries plunged Australia to 6-113 after 13 overs and seemingly with little hope of chasing down the victory target of 220.

In carrying their team to the cusp of a stunning win, Stoinis (78 from 37) and Sams (41 from 15) set a new record for the seventh-wicket in T20 internationals, beating the 91 England's Paul Collingwood and Michael Yardy but on against the West Indies at The Oval in 2007. (Australia's previous best seventh-wicket stand was 74 between Mike Hussey and Steve Smith against Bangladesh at the 2010 T20 World Cup in the West Indies.)

The pair entered the final over – trusted to Jimmy Neasham asked to send down his first spell of the game with Australia charging to victory - needing 15 runs.

But Sams skied the first delivery, a full toss, to a delighted Glenn Phillips at deep mid-wicket and then Stoinis top-edged a huge swing that was claimed by Tim Southee at long-on.

In addition to the clatter of middle-order wickets, Australia were left to rue a moment in the 18th over when Sams crunched a straight drive off Trent Boult that he thought was destined for the boundary before it struck the foot of umpire Chris Gaffaney as he tried to evade the ball.

Instead of four runs, Sams gained only a single as the ball rebounded to mid-on with the match's final margin ensuring it remained a talking point.

Until the Australia pair began their audacious challenge, the home crowd had begun celebrating a New Zealand win that seemed likely from the time Guptill got going.

He fell a couple of metres and three runs short of equalling the record for the fastest T20I century by a Black Caps batter, but his 97 from 50 balls defied recent history and underpinned his team's imposing 20-over score of 7-219.

He was also the dominant partner in a 131-run second-wicket stand with skipper Kane Williamson (53 from 35 balls) before allrounder Neasham welcomed a promotion in the batting order to pummel 45 from 16 deliveries.

The sudden switch in fortunes that Guptill enjoyed did not extend to Australia's similarly out-of-sorts opener Aaron Finch who battled to find rhythm in his 14-ball innings that brought 12 runs before he was caught at deep-mid-wicket from a mistimed pull shot.

The Australia captain might have been run out on four when called for a quick single by opening partner Matthew Wade in the second over but, having narrowly made his ground despite Neasham's direct hit, he was unable to profit from the reprieve.

Finch has now completed 11 innings at KFC BBL and T20I level without reaching 20, which follows an equally frustrating 2020 Indian Premier League campaign where he posted 268 runs from 12 knocks with a solitary half-century.

His dismissal came as his batting partner Josh Philippe, in his second outing for Australia, was building momentum and it triggered a middle-order collapse that mirrored the Powerplay implosion the tourists suffered in the five-game series opener at Christchurch last Monday.

In the space of four and a half overs, Australia lost Glenn Maxwell (3) to a spectacular catch by Ish Sodhi, then Philippe (45 from 32) to the first of two smart outfield snares by Devon Conway before Agar (elevated to No.6) and Marsh went for first-ball ducks.

It meant Australia crashed from 2-70 after eight overs to 6-113 after the 13th, and left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner (4-31) crowned his 50th T20I appearance for New Zealand by claiming three wickets at a cost of six runs in the last of his allotted four overs.

However, it could not wrest player-of-the-match honours from Guptill who entered the match – his 96th since debuting in the 20-over format at the SCG in 2009 – with his place in the Black Caps' line-up under scrutiny after a poor run of recent form.

The 34-year-old had not posted a T20I 50 since New Zealand's 2019 series against England, and since then had averaged just 16 across 11 innings with a highest score of 33.

He also was forced to undergo a fitness test prior to this campaign having hurt his hamstring in the preceding NZ domestic T20 competition where he returned four single-figure scores in five knocks.

But from the opening delivery today – a full, wide loosener from Sams that Guptill dismissed with disdain to the cover boundary – he bristled with confidence that belied his struggles of late.

The powerful right-hander targeted the straight boundaries at Dunedin's compact University Oval which was hosting its first T20 international, and bludgeoned four sixes and as many boundaries in reaching his half-century from 27 balls.

When he took to Kane Richardson, who had claimed the wicket of Guptill's opening partner Tim Seifert (3) with his first delivery of the match, and blasted consecutive sixes followed by a savage four over extra cover he was on track to post the fastest-ever T20 century for NZ.

That benchmark had been set three months earlier by teammate Phillips who clubbed a ton from 46 balls against the West Indies at Mount Maunganui.

By the time Guptill and Williamson posted their century stand in the 12th over, the opener was 87 from 41 deliveries faced and only a couple of hefty hits from a new Black Caps record.

However, he was tamed by a couple of clever deliveries from leg spinner Adam Zampa and then fleetingly felt he had equalled Phillips' effort when he slapped Sams towards the long-off fence only to see Marcus Stoinis clutch a neat catch running to his right.

If Australia thought Guptill's departure with the score 2-151 in the 15th over might quell the pain, they were in for a rude shock.

The decision to elevate Neasham to number four seemed curious given he leapfrogged Phillips and last Monday's batting hero Devon Conway – who was eyeing a record of his own as the first player to score six consecutive T20 half-centuries – in the Black Caps order.

But it became immediately and incredulously apparent why the move was made when Neasham deposited each of the first three deliveries he faced into the euphoric Dunedin crowd who entertained hopes of the home team posting a total near 250.

That projected total then dwindled with each passing over of the innings' final phase as the Australia bowlers recovered from their earlier mauling to slow the boundary flow and claim timely wickets.

By snaring 5-56 from the last five overs, the visitors found themselves a more palatable target of 220 for victory despite Neasham's blazing innings that yielded a scoring rate of almost 300 per 100 bals faced (and would have been more if his entreaties for a wide and waist-high no-ball in Sams' final over were upheld).

As it stood, the Black Caps 20-over tally of 7-219 represented a steep challenge if the history of domestic run chases at the boutique ground could be translated to international level.

Over the past four years, teams have scored at almost 10 per over at University Oval but none had successfully chased down a target above 200.

Furthermore, the new Dunedin venue – which replaced the famous rugby stronghold Carisbrook's 'House of Pain' as the city's home of international cricket – had previously proved a stronghold for the Black Caps who had not tasted defeat in eight Tests and as many ODIs there since 2008.

Qantas T20I tour of New Zealand 2021

Australia squad: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, D'Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa.

New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Hamish Bennett, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, *Martin Guptill (pending fitness test), Kyle Jamieson, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee. *Finn Allen (on stand-by for Guptill)

1st T20: New Zealand won by 53 runs

2nd T20: New Zealand won by four runs

3rd T20: March 3, Sky Stadium, Wellington, 5pm AEDT

4th T20: March 5, Eden Park, Auckland, 5pm AEDT

5th T20: March 7, Bay Oval, Tauranga, 12noon AEDT

All matches will be shown live in Australia on Fox Cricket and Kayo