Australia beat New Zealand by five runs in the highest-scoring match in World Cup history, thanks to Travis Head’s quick hundred and Rachin Ravindra’s brave 116. Also, Australia is still on track to make it to the semi-finals of the 50-over tournament on Saturday.
Australia beats New Zealand in World Cup thriller
Head hit 109 runs off of 67 balls in his first World Cup game. He and David Warner (81) put together a fast-paced 175-run opening stand that helped Australia get to a commanding 388 all out at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium.
Down the order, Glenn Maxwell (41), Josh Inglis (38), and captain Pat Cummins (37), all played well before Australia was out in 49.2 overs.
Also, New Zealand’s strong response was led by Ravindra, who scored his second hundred of the tournament. Daryl Mitchell added 54 to keep their innings going.
After Ravindra was out in the 41st over, the 2019 runners-up didn’t look like they would win. But James Neesham’s never-say-die 58 added some drama, but it wasn’t enough as New Zealand ended just short of their goal on 383-9.
With eight points from six games and a good 0.970 net run rate (NRR), the Aussies moved up in the World Cup points table after the important win.
