Australia suffers heavy defeat to trans-Tasman rivals in T20 World Cup opener

Australia was utterly dominated by their trans-Tasman rivals on Saturday, suffering its largest defeat in T20 World Cup history.

Josh Hazlewood of Australia. Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Revenge is sweet.

New Zealand has dominated trans-Tasman rivals Australia in its opening fixture of the T20 World Cup, taking down the reigning champions by 89 runs in front of 34,756 fans at the SCG on Saturday evening.

It was Australia's largest defeat in T20 World Cup tournaments and their biggest loss to New Zealand in men's T20I history.

The Black Caps outclassed Australia in every facet of the game - their batting was entertaining, their bowling was relentless and their fielding was, at times, extraordinary.

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It may not have necessarily been a perfect performance from the New Zealanders, but it was close.

“They have demolished the Australians ... that was an annihilation," former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson said in commentary.

"The Australians didn’t expect this at all.”  

After Australian captain Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to field first in Sydney, Black Caps opener Finn Allen got the Kiwis off to a flyer by smacking a 16-ball 42 during the Powerplay.

Rarely has the experienced Australian pace attack been treated with such disdain, with 56 runs cracked from the opening four overs.

But after Allen’s dismissal in the fifth over, the scoring rate steadied in the middle overs as Australia’s seamers found their length.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson combined with opener Devon Conway for a 69-run partnership for the second wicket before Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa removed the rival skipper for 23 (23).

Player of the Match Conway finished unbeaten on 92 as the Kiwis registered 3/200 from their 20 overs, comfortably the team’s highest T20I score on Australian soil. It was also the first time New Zealand had scored 200+ in a Men's T20 World Cup.

Hazlewood was the pick of the Australian bowlers, finishing with 2/41 from his four overs.

Australia's run chase started poorly, losing three wickets in the Powerplay with opener David Warner departing in bizarre circumstances in the second over.

Tim Southee's first delivery of the tournament slapped into Warner's thigh guard off the inside edge before ricocheting off the back of his bat onto the stumps.

David Warner of Australia. Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Wickets tumbled perpetually throughout Australia's innings, with none of the top-order batters finding any rhythm out in the middle.

The lone silver lining for Australia was a return to form, of sorts, for Glenn Maxwell, who top-scored with 28 (20).

Black Caps spinner Mitchell Santner put together a masterful performance, finishing with 3/31 from his four overs including the wickets of Finch (13), Marcus Stoinis (7) and Tim David (11), while Southee also snared three wickets.

The Australians never looked like coming close to chasing the 201-run target, ultimately rolled for 111, their lowest T20I total on home soil.

Finch's men will now essentially need to win six consecutive matches to defend their T20 World Cup title, but their current net run rate of negative 4.450 is worrying, to say the least.

“That’s a big loss in the context of the tournament. We were just totally outplayed in all three facets,” Finch told reporters in the post-match press conference.

“New Zealand came at us hard with the bat and their bowling was so disciplined, their fielding is always fantastic. It hurts.

“It hurts our net run rate. But you’ve still got to be positive. We still back ourselves to win four and you need a bit of luck along the way."

Australia will next face Sri Lanka at Perth Stadium on Tuesday evening, with the first ball scheduled for 10pm AEDT.