AUCKLAND
\nAustralia\u2019s bowlers sliced through some reckless New Zealand batting on Friday to win the second Twenty20 international by 72 runs in Auckland and clinch the three-match series.
\nLeg-spinner Adam Zampa knocked over the middle order to finish with 4-34 as the home side were skittled for 102 in 17 overs at Eden Park.
\nNew Zealand lost early wickets and always looked unlikely to match the visitors, who were dismissed for 174 in the final over.
\nOnly Glenn Phillips provided resistance with 42 but New Zealand\u2019s hopes were buried when he was caught at long-on off Zampa in the 14th over.
\nAustralia captain Mitchell Marsh said he was worried his team hadn\u2019t scored enough but was delighted with their bowling, with the T20 World Cup coming up in June.
\n\u201cA great win for Australia. Our backs were against the wall, I thought we were probably 50 short but the way our bowlers performed was outstanding,\u201d said Marsh, who praised the match-winning prowess of Zampa.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve said it so many times before \u2014 he\u2019s probably the most important player in this team. He was brilliant again.\u201d
\nThe Black Caps\u2019 cause wasn\u2019t helped by a thumb injury suffered in the field by Devon Conway, which prevented the opener from batting.
\nThe injury, sustained while he was wicket-keeping, may place Conway in doubt for Sunday\u2019s third match in Auckland.
\nCaptain Mitchell Santner said X-rays showed Conway hadn\u2019t suffered a fracture and he hoped the experienced batsman would be available for the two-Test series starting next week in Wellington.
\nSantner praised his bowlers but said the batting effort lacked discipline.
\nHe promoted himself up the order but that experiment failed and he was one of eight New Zealand batsmen who didn\u2019t go past 10 as they fell to a succession of loose shots.
\n\u201cWe were pretty happy at halfway but they bowled extremely well,\u201d he said.
\nEarlier, opener Travis Head blazed 45 runs off 22 balls after Australia were sent in but they stumbled through the middle stages in the face of brilliant bowling from paceman Lockie Ferguson.
\nFerguson claimed 4-12 from 3.5 overs as Head\u2019s dismissal sparked the loss of five quick wickets after Australia had been 84-1 in the seventh over. Other notable scores were 26 from Marsh and a late 28 from player of the match Pat Cummins.
\nSantner, Adam Milne and Ben Sears all took two wickets each for the hosts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AUCKLAND Australia\u2019s bowlers sliced through some reckless New Zealand batting on Friday to win the second Twenty20 international by 72 runs in Auckland and clinch the three-match series. Leg-spinner Adam Zampa knocked over the middle order to finish with 4-34 as the home side were skittled for 102 in 17 overs at Eden Park. New […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389497,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-389463","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n