Maxwell and Agar keep series alive

After two uneven performances that allowed New Zealand to take an early 2-0 lead, Australia hit back with an all-round clinical display to keep themselves alive and kicking in the five-match series. Pleasingly for the visitors, the match-turning performances came from Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell and Ashton Agar - the three players who have made a less than desirable start to this series. Entertaining fifties from the first two led Australia to a total of 208 for 4 before Ashton Agar's 6 for 30 derailed the home side's valiant start in chase.

The end of Finch's prolonged rut

Tim Southee nearly extended Aaron Finch's recent, unending misery. The first ball that the Aussie skipper faced, he failed to judge the subtle inward movement and got struck on the front pad. Vociferous appeals were followed by a convinced review, only for Finch to be saved by the much discussed umpire's call.

The Australian captain made immediate amends, constantly walking down the track to guard against swing and took more risks once Kane Williamson looked beyond Southee and Trent Boult. Finch went after James Neesham's medium pace, and looked to dominate Kyle Jamieson from the very beginning as the strapping New Zealand quick looked to improve his numbers from the last couple of games (1/32 and 0/56).

If there were any nerves or baggage from the bad form, it didn't show on the Aussie captain. Once he got comfortable in the middle thanks to a host of freebies from Neesham and Jamieson, some of the expansive shots of the old - through covers and on the on side - were back on display. He then got to a 34-ball half-century with an incredible switch hit off Ish Sodhi, that made Glenn Maxwell at the other end chuckle.

The early Philippe burst

Boult laid out a masterful set up to get Matthew Wade edging in his first over, but Australia moved on quickly thanks to Josh Philippe's adventurism against the pacers early on. Philippe even took on Boult who was getting the ball to swing into the right hander and bring LBW into the picture, while Neesham and Jamieson were at the receiving end as well.

Control from Ish Sodhi

As the second-wicket partnership built, Williamson turned to the only spinner in his line-up, Ish Sodhi, to bring back some control of the proceedings in New Zealand's favour. Sodhi delivered his end of the bargain by testing Philippe's patience with an outside off-stump line. The Aussie one-drop batsman eventually bit the bullet in the 10th over to mistime a big shot straight to Martin Guptill at long off.

Maxwell shakes off "ugly" start

By his own admission, the early stages of Maxwell's incredible 70 off 31 balls were 'ugly'. There was a small window right after Philippe's exit when New Zealand could get on top of the game, as Maxwell struggled to put bat to ball with his big heaves. But Finch didn't stray from his intentions, smashing three fours off Boult's comeback over in the 14th. At this stage, Maxwell was going at 10 off 11, and looked like hurting Australia's chances of a big total despite having a strong middle-order.

A 15-run Southee over flipped that narrative. He connected with two reverse hits for fours before spotting a change of pace from a distance to smash into the empty midwicket stands.

Sodhi once again dragged New Zealand back with Finch's wicket, but the scales truly tipped over to Australia's side in the 17th over.

The carnage against Neesham

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Maxwell had warmed up, and was offered Neesham's medium pace on a platter. As Neesham struggled with his lengths - switching between too short and too full - Maxwell peeled off shots all around the ground to race away to a 25-ball half-century. Despite Australia scoring just 14 off the last two overs, they finished with 208 for 4.

Heat from Riley Meredith

Debutant Riley Meredith came with the reputation of being incredibly quick and the record for bowling four out of the five fastest balls in the BBL. He breached the 150kmph mark off just his fourth ball, but found it hard to unsettle Martin Guptill, who disdainfully hit him for a six down the ground. Tim Seifert however saw it fit to swing his way out of the discomforting pace, and threw his wicket away in Meredith's first over.

The bigger moment for the quick, who recently earned a big pay day in the IPL auction, was the scalp of Kane Williamson. The New Zealand captain was stuck on his crease while trying to play across the line and was beaten by the pace. An LBW decision was quickly made in favour of the bowling side and Williamson walked off without taking a review.

Guptill, Conway keep Australia on their toes

Though Australia picked early wickets, the chase was still very much in the balance considering Guptill's onslaught allowed the home side to maintain their run rate around 10 an over. It was a tight Marcus Stoinis over in the eighth worth just six runs that forced Guptill to take bigger risks. One such risk led to his dismissal off Zampa in the ninth over, but Devon Conway made it clear in no uncertain terms that the home side will not go down without trying. He punished Maxwell for his poor short lengths with two sixes in an over to keep Australia on their toes.

The Ashton Agar vindication

After going two games without a single wicket, there was anticipation of Agar losing his spot in the side. Head coach Andrew McDonald had spoken about ringing in changes to save the series, but earned a handsome reward for persisting with his offspinner.

A triple-strike inside the same over, including the dismissal of local boy Conway, all but ended New Zealand's endeavour to drag the chase out till the end and look to nick it late. With a lot of runs to defend, Agar confidently bowled flighted deliveries to induce errors. First was Glenn Phillips, whose attempt went only as far as long on. Conway then picked out Stoinis at midwicket before Neesham's horrid day ended with a first ball duck getting caught behind.

Agar went on to pick three more wickets and end with 6 for 30 - the best T20I figures by an Australia bowler in men's cricket.

What next?

New Zealand have until Friday to figure out what will work on this odd-shaped, high-scoring venue in Wellington. Australia however, may have found a very strong blueprint for success.

Brief Scores: Australia 208/4 in 20 overs (Glenn Maxwell 70, Aaron Finch 69, Josh Philippe 43; Ish Sodhi 2-32) beat New Zealand 144 in 17.1 overs (Martin Guptill 43, Devon Conway 38; Ashton Agar 6-30) by 64 runs