Travis Head produces the winning hand in 388 vs 383 nail-biter

Travis Head made a stunning 59-ball century as he and David Warner clubbed 118 runs in the opening powerplay and shared a staggering 175-run opening stand to underpin Australia’s mountainous 388. But Rachin Ravindra produced a dazzling 77-ball century of his own while Daryl Mitchell continued his love affair with Dharamsala in making 54 to give New Zealand a chance to pull off their highest-ever ODI chase.

It was left to James Neesham at the end, as it had been in the World Cup fina in 2019,  and as he did on that occasion he went within one hit of stealing the game with an outstanding 58 off 39 balls. But he ended like his Lord’s partner Martin Guptill, cutting a forlorn figure face first on the turf having been run out off the penultimate ball. Mitchell Starc, having been plundered everywhere, held his nerve off the last ball to deny Lockie Ferguson the six he needed and handed Australia a vital two points.

Brief scores:
Australia 388 all out in 49.2 overs (Travis Head 109, David Warner 81, Mitchell Marsh 36 Glenn Maxwell 41, Josh Inglis 38, Pat Cummins 37; Glenn Phillips 3-37, Trent Boult 3-77, Mitchell Santner 2-80) beat  New Zealand 383/9 in 50 overs (Devon Conway 28, Will Young 32, Rachin Ravindra 116, Daryll Mitchell 54, Tom Latham 21, James Neesham 58;  Josh Hazelwood 2-70, Pat Cummins 2-66, Adam Zampa 3-74) by 5 runs