NEW DELHI: Australia and New Zealand played one of the most entertaining matches of the 2023 ICC World Cup, when the two team produced a match aggregate of 771 runs and the Aussies held their nerve to win a last-over thriller by five runs.
It was a tall order for the Kiwis to chase Australia's 388, but led by Rachin Ravindra's century (116 off 89 balls) and fifties by Daryl Mitchell (54 off 51) and James Neesham (58 off 39), the New Zealanders tried making a match of it by scoring 383/9 and lost the game off the last ball of the match.
But the run-fest began with Australia openers David Warner and Travis Head, who put on a partnership of 175 runs in just 19 overs to deflate the Kiwi bowling attack, who made a mini comeback through Glenn Phillips' spell of 3/37.
Head, making his World Cup debut, scored a whirlwind 109 off 67 balls and Warner ended up scoring 81 off 65 balls. The duo hit 15 fours and 13 sixes between them.
"Travis Head pata nahi ghar se hi set aaya hai (it seems Head has come into the tournament already well set)," said former Pakistan captain and fast-bowling legend Wasim Akram on new channel 'A Sports'.
"He was injured, had to wait, but comes in and hits a 59-ball hundred. And good shots, not just slogs, toyed around with the bowlers," Akram added.
1/10:World Cup: Australia edge New Zealand in a high-scoring thriller
Getty Images
2/10:Australia win by five runs
Australia edged out New Zealand in the highest-scoring World Cup game in history.Getty Images
3/10:Head, Warner shine for Australia
Travis Head scored 109 and David Warner made 81 to lead Australia's batting.Getty Images
4/10:Ravindra, Mitchell fight hard for NZ
Rachin Ravindra scored 116 and Daryl Mitchell added 54 to keep New Zealand in the game.AFP
5/10:Neesham's late fireworks
Jimmy Neesham provided late fireworks with a 33-ball fifty for New Zealand.Getty Images
6/10:Highest-scoring World Cup game
The match between Australia and New Zealand set a new record for the highest total runs scored in a World Cup game, with a total of 771 runs.ANI
7/10:Cummins leads Australia to victory
Australia captain Pat Cummins (37 off 14 & 2/66) played a crucial role in guiding his team to victory.Getty Images
8/10:Dramatic final over
The match came down to a thrilling final over, with New Zealand needing 19 runs to win.AFP
9/10:Boult, Starc in the spotlight
Trent Boult and Mitchell Starc play key roles in the final over, with Boult scoring a single and Starc conceding five wides.Getty Images
10/10:Labuschagne's fine throw
Marnus Labuschagne's fine throw from the fence resulted in a run-out for New Zealand's Jimmy Neesham.Getty ImagesHead fractured his finger in September and had to wait in the wings before recovering and joining the World Cup squad.
He made his ODI debut in 2016 but didn't get a chance to open batting for siix years. In fact, Head returned to the Australian colours in February 2022 after a three-year absence. And Aaron Finch's decisions to retire paved way for him to partner Warner at the top in ODIs.
"I think that's been a spot that I waited for, obviously, with (Finch) playing for such a long period and their partnership being so good," Head said talking to the media after Ausralia's win over New Zealand.
"The limited chance I had I was able to take and sort of waited a couple of years for that spot to open up. So that's never guaranteed and I've got to perform, and I'm lucky enough to be able to put a string of a few performances together that hopefully make that a spot where Dave and I have obviously got a great partnership," Head added.
Five-time champions Australia started his World Cup with two consecutive defeas but have turned that around with four wins in a row to make their way into the top-four bracket.
They will next take on England in Ahmedabad on November 4.
