Veteran batsman Martin Guptill returned to form with a blistering 97 as New Zealand held on for a nail-biting win over Australia in the second T20I in Dunedin on Thursday.
Guptill’s Black Caps set Australia a challenging target of 220 after losing the toss but were made to sweat as Australia came within four runs of victory.
Both sides took advantage of University Oval’s short boundaries in a thrilling match that featured 30 sixes and 434 runs at an average of 10.9 an over.
Marcus Stoinis starred for the Australians with 78 from 37 balls but Guptill’s 97 from 50 laid the foundation for New Zealand’s win.
Black Caps spinner Mitchell Santner also shone amid the batting fireworks, taking four for 31, while Australian paceman Kane Richardson managed three for 43.
New Zealand allrounder Jimmy Neesham was another exceptional performer, taking two wickets in the final over when a rampant Australia needed 15 runs for victory. Neesham also scored an undefeated 45, including six sixes.
The result puts New Zealand 2-0 up in the five-match series, on the brink of a win over the world’s second-ranked T20 team.
Guptill’s innings gave him the record for the most sixes in T20 Internationals with 132, taking him past India’s Rohit Sharma on 127.
The 34-year-old clubbed the ball over the boundary eight times, bludgeoning all comers in the Australian attack. He fell just short of his third Twenty20 century after being caught trying to hit a Daniel Sams delivery out of the ground.
Guptill averaged only 17 in the recent series against the West Indies and Pakistan, then managed just 11.5 in the domestic competition before picking up a hamstring injury.
Pressure on the opener intensified when he made a duck in the first match against Australia on Monday, with calls for uncapped Finn Allen to join the squad. But he answered his critics with a return to his big-hitting best, bringing up 50 off 27 balls, with eight boundaries, including four sixes. Guptill insisted he had not changed his approach during the game-turning innings.