NZ vs AUS: Neesham gifts jersey with hilarious message to Maxwell
Spirited Australia could not complete a hat-trick of wins as New Zealand thrashed them in the fifth and final T20I to clinch the series 3-2. The visitors had their back against the wall after losing the first two games of the series. However, the Aaron Finch-led since bounced back in style and registered thumping wins in the next two games to draw level in the series.
Australia won the third game by 64 runs before winning the fourth one by 50 runs to keep the series alive. But in the series-decider, they failed to make the most of their momentum. New Zealand came up with a strong all-performance to beat their Trans-Tasman rivals by seven wickets at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington.
Batting first, Australia could only manage a modest total of 142 for 8 in the allotted 20 overs. Matthew Wade top-scored with 44 while Finch also played a handy knock of 36. For New Zealand, Ish Sodhi was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 for 24 off his four overs. With the bat, the Black Caps chased down the total inside 16 overs.
James Neesham’s hilarious message for Glenn Maxwell
Glenn Maxwell could not power Australia to a series-clinching win, but New Zealand star James Neesham ensured that his former IPL teammate leaves the country with a big smile on his face. Neesham is known for his sense of humour and he showed his comedic side once again. Both the all-rounders exchanged jerseys after the match and Neesham wrote a hilarious message on the jersey he gifted to Maxwell.
The photo of the players standing with each other’s jersey soon became viral and the eagle-eyed fans were quick to notice a hidden message on Neesham’s jersey that read — 4, 6, 4, 4, 4, 6. And it did not take the fans long to realise the meaning of the message. During the third T20I of the series last week, Maxwell had taken Neesham to the cleaners.
In the 17th over of the game, Maxwell had hit Neesham in the same order as he collected 28 runs off the over. Neesham had finished the match with bowling figures of 0 for 60 — the second most runs conceded by a New Zealander in a T20I.
