Wellington: Australia took a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series against New Zealand by 172 runs on Sunday courtesy Nathan Lyon’s five wicket haul in the second innings.
New Zealand began the fourth day of the game on 111/3 needing 258 runs for a win. Rachindra Ravindra started the day on a half-century while Daryl Mitchell was settling in on the crease. Ravindra managed to add just three more runs to his tally from Saturday and was dismissed by Nathan Lyon which paved the way for an innings collapse.
New Zealanders then lost their seven wickets in a span of 85 runs as the 36-year-old Australian spinner capitalised on the spin-friendly conditions. Lyon picked six wickets in the innings while left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc picked a couple of wickets. Scott Kuggeleijn tried to provide some resistance with his knock of 26 runs but was sent back to the pavilion by Cameron Green.
Green was another protagonist in the script for the visitors as he played a mammoth knock of unbeaten 174 runs which helped the team post a total of 383 in the first innings. The Aussie all-rounder earned Man of the Match award for his exploits in the game.
The second and final Test of the series will be played from Friday in Christchurch. New Zealand will be keen to level the series by winning the game while Australia will have a chance to register a clean sweep.
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