Australia pull off highest successful T20I chase, defeat New Zealand by 5

244 is the highest score ever chased in a T20 match
New Zealand will meet England for a place in tri-series final

Australia chased down a world-record 244 to beat New Zealand by five wickets at Auckland, reaching their target with seven balls to spare, in a match which saw an incredible 32 sixes and a combined total of 488 runs for the loss of 11 wickets. Australia had already reached the final of the tri-series; their opponents will now be decided on Wednesday when New Zealand meet England, also at Auckland.

A combination of Eden Park’s short boundaries and a docile pitch meant that the writing was on the wall for the bowlers from the off, Black Caps duo Martin Guptill and Colin Munro sharing an opening stand of 132 in 10.4 overs.

Guptill finished with 105 from 54 deliveries, hitting nine sixes and in the procerss becoming the leading runscorer in international T20 cricket – and Munro scored even quicker, racking up 76 in just 33 balls.

Andrew Tye claimed the wickets of both men but also suffered more than most, going for 64 from his four-over stint.

But Australia fought back at the death, conceding just 48 from the last five overs – a relative improvement that would later prove crucial.

At the start of Australia’s innings, David Warner, who made 59, and D’Arcy Short, who made 76, flung the bat with abandon in the powerplay, improbably racing ahead of the rate in reaching 91 without loss after six overs. They eventually put on 121 before Warner was undone by Ish Sodhi’s googly, but Australia’s confidence never waned. Ben Wheeler, a late call-up for the injured Mitchell Santner, suffered most as Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell and Aaron Finch all played entertaining cameos – he was well on the way to the worst figures in the history of international T20 when successive no-ball beamers saw him taken out of the attack by the umpires after shipping 64 runs from 3.1 overs.

Then, with Australia needing four to win, Finch blasted Colin de Grandhomme for the match-winning six – the only way a game like this should end – to ensure that the final over was not even required.