Led by Devon Convoy’s unbeaten 99 and some brilliant bowling by pace duo Trent Boult and Tim Southee, New Zealand registered a 53-run win over Australia in the first Twenty20 International at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Monday. 

Put to bat first, Convoy powered the home side to an imposing total of 184 for the loss of five wicket from the stipulated 20 overs. 

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In turn, Boult and Southee romped through Australia’s top order with two wickers each, before leg spinner Ish Sodhi dismantled the rest of the batting line up to bundle out the visitors for 131 in 17.3 overs. 

Daniel Sams and Jhye Richardson, who were recently acquired for multi-million deals by the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Punjab Kings in the IPL player auction, were the pick of the bowlers for Australia with two wickets each. 

And they started brightly as well, dismissing openers Martin Guptill (0) and Tim Seifert (1) in the first and third overs respectively. 

The home side were under pressure following skipper Kane Williamson’s (12) dismissal, with the score at 19 for three, but Convoy led the Kiwi rally with a quick-fire fifty. 

Glenn Philips (30) and James Neesham (26) pitched in with handy knocks as Convoy narrowly missed out on a well-deserved century to lead the hosts to a respectable total. 

Australian skipper Aaron Finch (1), having gone unsold at the IPL player auction, was dismissed cheaply in the first over, with debutant Josh Philippe (2) following suit in the next over. 

Mitchell Marsh (45) top-scored for the visitors and Ashton Agar (23) had a late flourish as Sodhi (4/28) dislodged the middle order to finish Australia’s chances for a comeback. 

The second T20I will be played at Dunedin’s University Oval on February 25.