Australia, considered a formidable contender alongside India for the upcoming T20 World Cup in 2026, continues to demonstrate its dominance. After securing T20 series wins against England, West Indies, and South Africa, the former champions have now defeated New Zealand. Captain Mitchell Marsh’s record-breaking century propelled Australia to a three-wicket victory in the third and final T20 match, clinching the series.
In the series against New Zealand, Australia previously won the first match, while the second was abandoned due to rain on October 3. The final match was held in Mount Maunganui, where Australia’s pace attack rattled New Zealand’s batting order. The hosts, batting first, lost four wickets for just 77 runs in 9.1 overs, with the dismissed batsmen collectively scoring only 26 runs.
However, opener Tim Seifert (48) provided some resistance with explosive batting, along with captain Michael Bracewell and all-rounder James Neesham, helping the team reach 156 runs for the loss of 9 wickets. For Australia, Sean Abbott took 3 wickets, while Josh Hazlewood and Xavier Bartlett each secured 2 wickets.
Following this, Australian captain Mitchell Marsh, who played a fiery innings in the first T20 match, delivered again. While he managed 85 runs in the previous game, this time, the explosive opener scored a century. Despite the lack of support from the other batsmen, with the remaining five batsmen in the top-6 scoring only 21 runs combined, and none reaching double figures, Marsh single-handedly dominated the Kiwi bowlers, scoring his first T20I career century in just 50 balls.
Australia won the match in 18 overs, scoring 160 runs for 3 wickets, with Marsh’s bat contributing 103 runs (8 fours, 7 sixes). In addition to this, Marsh broke a 20-year-old record. In 2005, the first T20 International match in history was played between Australia and New Zealand, where Australian captain Ricky Ponting scored an unbeaten 98 runs. No Australian batsman had since scored such a high score against New Zealand, until Marsh achieved it after 20 years.
