Ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka, Australia is showcasing exceptional form, posing a significant threat to other teams. The Australian team, having won the T20 World Cup four years ago, is once again proving its mettle. Following victories in T20 series against England, West Indies, and South Africa, Australia has now triumphed over New Zealand. Captain Mitchell Marsh’s record-breaking century enabled Australia to secure a 3-wicket victory in the third and final T20 match, ultimately winning the series.
Australia also emerged victorious in the first match of the series held in New Zealand, while the second match was canceled due to rain on October 3. The final match took place in Mount Maunganui, where the Australian pace attack disrupted New Zealand’s batting order. New Zealand, batting first, was struggling at 77 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in 9.1 overs, with the four dismissed batsmen collectively scoring just 26 runs.
However, opener Tim Seifert (48) was aggressively scoring runs, along with captain Michael Bracewell and all-rounder James Neesham, who managed to bring the team to 156 runs with the loss of 9 wickets. Sean Abbott took the most wickets for Australia with 3, while Josh Hazlewood and Xavier Bartlett each claimed 2 wickets.
Then, Australian captain Mitchell Marsh, who had played a fiery innings in the first T20 match, led the charge. In the first match, Marsh scored 85 runs, but 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 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 alone contributing 103 runs (8 fours, 7 sixes). Furthermore, Marsh broke a 20-year-old record. In 2005, the first T20 International match was played between Australia and New Zealand. Ricky Ponting, the then-captain of Australia, scored an unbeaten 98 runs. Since then, no Australian batsman had been able to achieve such a high score against New Zealand until Marsh broke the record after 20 years.
