Tauranga, Oct 1: A knock of 85 from captain Mitchell Marsh helped Australia overcome Tim Robinson's maiden T20I century to open their series against New Zealand with a win on Tuesday (October 1).
Robinson was unbeaten on 106 runs from 66 balls faced, but no other Black Caps batsman managed more than Daryl Mitchell's 34 as they reached 181-6.
Five of the hosts' batters failed to get out of single figures, including both openers, Tim Seifert (4) and Devon Conway (1).
The latter was cleaned up by Ben Dwarshuis (2-40) for the first of back-to-back wickets, with Mark Chapman (0) caught by Alex Carey off the next ball to leave the Black Caps 6-3 after a mere 10 deliveries faced.
However, they would reach 98 before their next loss, with Robinson and Mitchell
putting on a 92-run partnership to steady the ship.
And even after Mitchell was caught by Tim David at long-on in the 11th over, Robinson continued to plunder runs as those around him faltered, hitting six fours and five maximums throughout the innings.
A target of 182, though, proved easily reachable for Australia, with the tourists making a sizzling start in the powerplay to reach 67 before Travis Head (31) was taken at midwicket by Chapman.
Marsh narrowly bettered that opening stand by combining with Matthew Short (29) for 68 before he was caught off the bowling of Matt Henry (2-43) in the 15th over, but by that point, victory was a formality for Australia.
Carey (7) was punished for a terrible shot selection by Chapman's catch in the next over, but off the very next delivery, Marcus Stoinis struck a four on the swivel to get Australia to 185-4 with 21 balls in hand.
Australia take a 1-0 lead in the KFC T20I Chappell-Hadlee Series.
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) October 1, 2025
Scorecard | https://t.co/ajRNKp0xuP pic.twitter.com/VsJsVgV1Fx
Data Debrief: Black Caps fall short of Bay Oval record
New Zealand were looking to make a piece of history on Wednesday (October 1), as a win would have been their fifth in a row in T20Is at Bay Oval, in Mount Maunganui.
They also enjoyed a four-game winning streak in the format at Bay Oval between January 2016 and January 2018, but Australia prevented them from surpassing that run on their very first visit to the ground in the 20-over format.
There was almost a landmark for Marsh, but he fell just eight runs short of recording his best-ever T20I knock, having managed an unbeaten 92 in South Africa in August 2023.
The teams will reconvene for the second T20I on Friday, with the Black Caps hoping to make Saturday's third meeting a series decider.
