1st T20 Newzealand Win By 7 Wickets

New Zealand v Zimbabwe, 1st Twenty20, Auckland

New Zealand 160 for 3 (Guptill 91*, Williamson 48) beat Zimbabwe 159 for 8 (Masakadza 53, Chigumbura 48, Bates 3-31) by seven wickets 

A 54-ball unbeaten 91 from Martin Guptill - his fifth straight half-century on tour - made light work of Zimbabwe's first fighting total in New Zealand, as the hosts sauntered past Zimbabwe's 159 with more than three overs to spare at Eden Park. Guptill and Kane Williamson combined to add 137 from 89 balls for the third wicket, to trump Hamilton Masakadza's half-century and Elton Chigumbura's finishing salvo, to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

Zimbabwe removed Rob Nicol and Brendon McCullum early, but couldn't shake Guptill out of his imperious run of form, as he continued to torment them with an array of sweet legside hits punctuated by the odd short-form innovation. A long, languid strike over long-on off Kyle Jarvis in the fourth over was followed by a cute cut that beat third man four balls later, as Zimbabwe failed once more to trouble a batsman whose new confidence and expanded stroke range has dogged them throughout the summer.

Brendan Taylor introduced spin in the fifth over, but the slow bowlers bothered Guptill no less than the wayward seamers who had conceded five wides in the first four overs. Prosper Utseya's fifth ball was launched into the southern stand, before Ray Price was slapped straight for six, then pulled for four off successive balls in the next over.

Zimbabwe's woeful fielding did them few favours. Williamson, who was content to turn over the strike for much of the chase, collected his first boundary through Forster Mutizwa's feet. Malcolm Waller then hoofed one across the rope in the next over, while misfields and overthrows gifted ample runs Zimbabwe could ill afford.

Guptill's third Twenty20 fifty came in 27 balls, as the pair progressed unflustered. A six and a four off Keegan Meth in the 15th over put the hosts on target, and though Williamson was dismissed attempting a short single on 48, Guptill hit his sixth six and a two to end the game, as debutant Colin de Grandhomme watched on from the non-striker's end.

Though New Zealand cruised to victory in the end, Zimbabwe's innings had been a spirited one, as they put on their best batting performance of the tour. Masakadza became the first Zimbabwe opener to breach double figures in New Zealand, with a 36-ball 53 that proved their launching pad.

A heave over cow corner ignited his knock, as two early wickets fell at the other end, before Tatenda Taibu joined him in a 62-run partnership to steady the innings. Masakadza had a reprieve on 36 when McCullum fluffed a stumping chance, but his aggressive intent and busy running advanced the total rapidly before his dismissal brought a mini-collapse in the middle order, as New Zealand's quartet of spinners kept a lid on the run rate.

Elton Chigumbura was on hand to pick up the slack towards the close however, in a 24-ball innings that yielded 48. He combined with Shingi Masakadza to launch the seventeenth over for 20 runs, as Doug Bracewell missed his length on a small ground that affords bowlers little mercy.

Two successive sixes in the final over pushed Zimbabwe beyond 150, but with Guptill in as spectacular form as he has ever been, Zimbabwe's first decent batting outing proved far too little.

Matthew Wade fifty sets up Australia win 1st T20

Australia 4 for 171 (Wade 72, Hussy 42) beat India 6 for 140 (Dhoni 48*, Hussey 2-4) by 31 runs

Smart stats Since their seven-wicket win against Australia in October 2007, India have gone on to lose 13 of their 23 Twenty20 matches. In the same period, they have also lost all three clashes against Australia. In their only previous Twenty20 game in Australia, India lost by nine wickets after being bowled out for 74. Australia improved upon their extraordinary home record in Twenty20 matches by winning their 12th match of 14 played so far. Their only defeats came against Sri Lanka (Perth in 2010) and England (Adelaide 2011). Australia's score of 171 is the sixth-highest team totalin Twenty20 matches in Australia. The top seven team scores in Australia have been made by the hosts. Playing his third match, Matthew Wade scored 72 off 43 balls. His score is the fifth-highest by an Australia batsman in a home Twenty20 game. His strike-rate of 167.44 is seventh on the list of the highest strike-rates for fifty-plus scores against India. The score of 81 is the fourth-lowest for India at the fall of the sixth wicket. Three of their four lowest scores at the fall of the sixth wicket have come against Australia.

A punishing 72 from Matthew Wade and telling cameos with bat and ball from David Hussey delivered a 31-run victory for Australia over India in the first Twenty20 international at Stadium Australia in Sydney, which hosted events during the Olympics in 2000.

Watched by a crowd of 59,659, the largest ever for a cricket match in Sydney, Australia's new Twenty20 captain George Bailey enjoyed the winner's plaudits in his first match, just as Dave Gregory had done in the very first Test in 1877 when he was the last Australian to make his debut as captain.

His ingenuity in the field rather contrasted with India's captain, MS Dhoni. In the penultimate over, with the target well out of reach, Dhoni's bat flew from his hands as he attempted to make a defiant swing at Brett Lee. The tour has gone the same way, and it did not improve in the format of the IPL.

At the start of what amounts to a five-match Twenty20 and ODI audition for a more permanent berth behind the stumps in place of Brad Haddin, Wade did his cause no harm with an innings of poise, power and some invention after Dhoni sent the hosts in to bat.

Wade and Hussey pushed Australia to 4 for 171, a steep target on a tacky pitch, before Bailey employed a trio of spinners to devastating effect. Hussey took the figures with 2 for 4 from his two overs, but the recalled 40-year-old Brad Hogg and the Twenty20 debutant Xavier Doherty also helped to sink India's chase after they had made a promising start to be 1 for 47 in the sixth over.

If the chase was to succeed, India's pursuit likely required a sizeable score from Virender Sehwag. He managed one cut that skimmed to the backward point boundary, but the early swing gained by Lee was enough to draw an edge from a bat angled towards mid-on, and Hussey held the sharp chance at slip.

Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli prospered for a time, lifting the visitors to 1 for 47 in the sixth over. Bailey had brought on the spin of Doherty and Hussey to constrict the rate, and the latter made the vital break by coaxing Gambhir to drive to cover.

Next over brought Hogg's introduction and he found enough tweak and variation to cause doubts in the minds of the batsmen, despite their education by spin. Kohli tried to swing him out of the stadium, but found less of the middle of the bat than the toe, and was well held by Warner at long on.

India were now slipping badly, and Hussey added to their disquiet by finding a biting off break that bowled Rohit Sharma off his pads for a golden duck. As the reserve Test batsman on tour, Rohit had waited a long time for that one delivery.

Christian nipped out Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja, all the while supported by Bailey's bright field placements and busy advice from mid-off or cover. Dhoni and Ashwin formed the most notable partnership of the innings, but it served only to decrease the margin of another defeat on tour for the visitors.

Warner had a new opening partner in Wade, and together they set about making a swift start against an opening attack comprising R Ashwin's spin and the swing of Praveen Kumar - much missed during the Test series.

As he had done in Adelaide, Ashwin kept Warner quiet to begin with, the first over going for only two runs. Wade's first boundary was a streaky edge off Praveen, and nine from the first 12 balls was a halting start.

But Warner found his range in the third, starting with an outrageous "switch punch" that sailed over wide long off, or long on depending on one's perspective. He followed up by driving a full toss to the point boundary then swinging another six over Ashwin's head.

The innings now had momentum, but Warner gave it up by miscuing Vinay Kumar and skying a catch to Raina, running back from extra cover. Warner left unhappily, but his replacement Birt was capable of hitting almost as hard. He found his stride by lofting Vinay over long off, without much apparent effort, but also played out a few dots before he drew blood from the hands of Rahul Sharma with a fearfully struck drive that was technically a dropped return catch.

Birt eventually perished to Ashwin, picking out Raina at cover, but his exit appeared to rouse Wade. To that point he had played neatly for 36 from 25 balls, but his next 34 were thrashed from only 14. Twice he cleared the fence, and each blow added intrigue to his battle with Haddin for the Australia wicketkeeper's spot.

A brief rain delay did not reduce Australia's allocation, but it did change the game's rhythm, and Wade was out to his second ball faced on resumption, bowled when trying to cut Raina off the stumps. Hussey and Bailey struggled initially to find the boundary, but Hussey connected with one clean blow in the final over to help the hosts past 170, a total that proved to be well beyond India.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s Powerplay 16-20 overs NB/Wides Australia 43 9 9 55 for 1 29 for 1 0/2 India 50 8 4 49 for 2 30 for 0 1/6

Matthew Wade fifty sets up Australia win 1st T20

Australia 4 for 171 (Wade 72, Hussy 42) beat India 6 for 140 (Dhoni 48*, Hussey 2-4) by 31 runs

Smart stats Since their seven-wicket win against Australia in October 2007, India have gone on to lose 13 of their 23 Twenty20 matches. In the same period, they have also lost all three clashes against Australia. In their only previous Twenty20 game in Australia, India lost by nine wickets after being bowled out for 74. Australia improved upon their extraordinary home record in Twenty20 matches by winning their 12th match of 14 played so far. Their only defeats came against Sri Lanka (Perth in 2010) and England (Adelaide 2011). Australia's score of 171 is the sixth-highest team totalin Twenty20 matches in Australia. The top seven team scores in Australia have been made by the hosts. Playing his third match, Matthew Wade scored 72 off 43 balls. His score is the fifth-highest by an Australia batsman in a home Twenty20 game. His strike-rate of 167.44 is seventh on the list of the highest strike-rates for fifty-plus scores against India. The score of 81 is the fourth-lowest for India at the fall of the sixth wicket. Three of their four lowest scores at the fall of the sixth wicket have come against Australia.

A punishing 72 from Matthew Wade and telling cameos with bat and ball from David Hussey delivered a 31-run victory for Australia over India in the first Twenty20 international at Stadium Australia in Sydney, which hosted events during the Olympics in 2000.

Watched by a crowd of 59,659, the largest ever for a cricket match in Sydney, Australia's new Twenty20 captain George Bailey enjoyed the winner's plaudits in his first match, just as Dave Gregory had done in the very first Test in 1877 when he was the last Australian to make his debut as captain.

His ingenuity in the field rather contrasted with India's captain, MS Dhoni. In the penultimate over, with the target well out of reach, Dhoni's bat flew from his hands as he attempted to make a defiant swing at Brett Lee. The tour has gone the same way, and it did not improve in the format of the IPL.

At the start of what amounts to a five-match Twenty20 and ODI audition for a more permanent berth behind the stumps in place of Brad Haddin, Wade did his cause no harm with an innings of poise, power and some invention after Dhoni sent the hosts in to bat.

Wade and Hussey pushed Australia to 4 for 171, a steep target on a tacky pitch, before Bailey employed a trio of spinners to devastating effect. Hussey took the figures with 2 for 4 from his two overs, but the recalled 40-year-old Brad Hogg and the Twenty20 debutant Xavier Doherty also helped to sink India's chase after they had made a promising start to be 1 for 47 in the sixth over.

If the chase was to succeed, India's pursuit likely required a sizeable score from Virender Sehwag. He managed one cut that skimmed to the backward point boundary, but the early swing gained by Lee was enough to draw an edge from a bat angled towards mid-on, and Hussey held the sharp chance at slip.

Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli prospered for a time, lifting the visitors to 1 for 47 in the sixth over. Bailey had brought on the spin of Doherty and Hussey to constrict the rate, and the latter made the vital break by coaxing Gambhir to drive to cover.

Next over brought Hogg's introduction and he found enough tweak and variation to cause doubts in the minds of the batsmen, despite their education by spin. Kohli tried to swing him out of the stadium, but found less of the middle of the bat than the toe, and was well held by Warner at long on.

India were now slipping badly, and Hussey added to their disquiet by finding a biting off break that bowled Rohit Sharma off his pads for a golden duck. As the reserve Test batsman on tour, Rohit had waited a long time for that one delivery.

Christian nipped out Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja, all the while supported by Bailey's bright field placements and busy advice from mid-off or cover. Dhoni and Ashwin formed the most notable partnership of the innings, but it served only to decrease the margin of another defeat on tour for the visitors.

Warner had a new opening partner in Wade, and together they set about making a swift start against an opening attack comprising R Ashwin's spin and the swing of Praveen Kumar - much missed during the Test series.

As he had done in Adelaide, Ashwin kept Warner quiet to begin with, the first over going for only two runs. Wade's first boundary was a streaky edge off Praveen, and nine from the first 12 balls was a halting start.

But Warner found his range in the third, starting with an outrageous "switch punch" that sailed over wide long off, or long on depending on one's perspective. He followed up by driving a full toss to the point boundary then swinging another six over Ashwin's head.

The innings now had momentum, but Warner gave it up by miscuing Vinay Kumar and skying a catch to Raina, running back from extra cover. Warner left unhappily, but his replacement Birt was capable of hitting almost as hard. He found his stride by lofting Vinay over long off, without much apparent effort, but also played out a few dots before he drew blood from the hands of Rahul Sharma with a fearfully struck drive that was technically a dropped return catch.

Birt eventually perished to Ashwin, picking out Raina at cover, but his exit appeared to rouse Wade. To that point he had played neatly for 36 from 25 balls, but his next 34 were thrashed from only 14. Twice he cleared the fence, and each blow added intrigue to his battle with Haddin for the Australia wicketkeeper's spot.

A brief rain delay did not reduce Australia's allocation, but it did change the game's rhythm, and Wade was out to his second ball faced on resumption, bowled when trying to cut Raina off the stumps. Hussey and Bailey struggled initially to find the boundary, but Hussey connected with one clean blow in the final over to help the hosts past 170, a total that proved to be well beyond India.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s Powerplay 16-20 overs NB/Wides Australia 43 9 9 55 for 1 29 for 1 0/2 India 50 8 4 49 for 2 30 for 0 1/6

Australia v India, 1st T20, Sydney,Cricinfo

A chance for India to start over

Big Picture

Nobody is more desperate to move on from the last six weeks than India's cricketers. Here is their perfect opportunity to do so. The first T20 not only pits two very different sides against each other, compared to those that played in the Tests, it also takes India and Australia to an entirely new venue for international cricket: Stadium Australia. The stadium, at Homebush in Sydney's west, was built for the 2000 Olympics and has a far greater capacity than the SCG. It will become the 19th ground in the country to host international cricket.

Appropriately enough it will host a new-look Australia team under the captaincy of debutant George Bailey. The 40-year-old spinner Brad Hogg will make his comeback after a vintage campaign from him in the Big Bash League, while the fast bowler James Faulkner could be in line for his debut. David Warner and Shaun Marsh are the only men in the squad who took part in the Tests against India.

The visitors have more of a crossover from the Test series, but there has still been plenty of new blood injected into the group. A 17-strong party has assembled for the T20s and the triangular one-day series that follows, including relatively inexperienced men like Rahul Sharma and Manoj Tiwary, but who will get the nod for the first match remains a mystery. Both sides are also hoping to use the series to narrow down their list of potential players for the World T20, to be held in Sri Lanka in September.

In the spotlight

Who else but George Bailey? Not since Dave Gregory in the very first Test match has a man made his international debut for Australia as captain. And with plenty of attention having been paid to Bailey's record in the shortest format, he will be hoping to show what he can offer at No.5, while also marshalling his troops in the field.

India always appear a more dynamic outfit when Suresh Raina is present, and he will provide spark not only in the batting line-up but also in the field. Spark is precisely what India need to rediscover after their Test slump.

Team news

Australia have named a 14-man squad and as the selectors cast an eye to the World Twenty20 they are likely to give each player an opportunity in at least one of these two games. Shaun Marsh is in the group despite having been dropped from the upcoming ODIs, and this could be a chance for him to free his mind and play naturally. Daniel Christian and Mitchell Marsh could be battling for one spot, while Xavier Doherty and Hogg are the two slow-bowling options. The selectors will probably want to see what the uncapped Faulkner can deliver, while Clint McKay is also in the squad.

Australia (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Shaun Marsh, 3 Aaron Finch, 4 David Hussey, 5 George Bailey (capt), 6 Travis Birt, 7 Mitchell Marsh / Daniel Christian, 8 Matthew Wade (wk), 9 Brad Hogg, 10 Brett Lee, 11 James Faulkner.

India have a big group to choose from, and the make-up of their attack is not yet clear. Ravindra Jadeja and Irfan Pathan might be competing for the same spot, and the extra spinner could be desirable if the drop-in pitch proves slow.

India (possible) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Rohit Sharma, 6 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja / Irfan Pathan, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Vinay Kumar, 11 Umesh Yadav.

Pitch and conditions

As a new international venue, it will be interesting to see what the Stadium Australia pitch offers. The former Adelaide Oval curator Les Burdett has been brought in to prepare surface. Like most drop-in pitches, it is unlikely to have much in the way of pace and bounce.

Stats and trivia

• At 40, Hogg will be the third-oldest man to play a T20 international. He played two T20s for Australia back in 2006 and 2007, but didn't take a wicket.
• Australia and India have met in four T20s for two wins each - the first two went India's way and Australia won the second two

Quotes

"I'm nervous about both [captaincy and debut], from the playing aspect you're anxious to get out there and perform really well, and the captaining side of things I'm really comfortable with that, it's more getting to know the players as quickly as I can."