NZ vs Aus, 5th T20I: Guptill, Sodhi star as hosts win series 3-2

Wellington [New Zealand], March 7 (ANI): Ish Sodhi’s three-wicket haul and Martin Guptill’s 71-run knock helped New Zealand defeat Australia by seven wickets in the fifth and final T20I on Sunday here at the Westpac Stadium, Wellington.
With this win, New Zealand won the five-match series 3-2.
Chasing 143, the Kiwis got off to a tremendous start as openers Guptill and Devon Conway put on 106 runs for the first wicket inside 12 overs. This stand saw Guptill going past his fifty-run mark to give the hosts an upper hand.
Australia did get back-to-back wickets of Conway (36) and Guptill (71) but it was too late and in the end, Glenn Phillips (34) and Mark Chapman (1) took the BlackCaps over the line by seven wickets and 27 balls to spare.
Earlier, a three-wicket haul helped New Zealand restrict Australia to 142/8 in the allotted twenty overs.
Australia was in a steady position at the halfway mark as the side had registered a score of 74/2 after the first ten overs.
However, the innings with southwards after that as the visitors managed to score just 68 runs in the final ten overs, and the side also lost six more wickets in the process.
For Australia, Matthew Wade (44) and Aaron Finch (36) got among the runs and no other batsmen was able to stay at the crease for a long duration. For the Kiwis, Sodhi returned with three wickets while Tim Southee and Trent Boult took two wickets each.
Brief Scores: Australia 142/8 (Matthew Wade 44, Aaron Finch 36, Ish Sodhi 3-24); New Zealand 143/3 (Martin Guptill 71, Devon Conway 36, Riley Meredith 2-39). (ANI)