Christchurch, March 10: Australia needed 202 runs and New Zealand six wickets to win the second cricket test in what should be a thrilling finish after both teams had highs and lows on the third day Sunday.
Rachin Ravindra made 82, Tom Latham 73 and Daryl Mitchell 58 before New Zealand was out for 372 in its second innings after trailing by 94 on the first.
That left Australia needing 279 to win the match and complete a 2-0 sweep of the series.
The target, if achieved, will be the 14th-highest successful fourth-innings run chase in test history.At stumps, Australia was 77-4 with Mitch Marsh 27 not out and Travis Head 17. Head and Marsh batted through the last 10 overs of the day to save Australia from further loss.
Matt Henry and Ben Sears took two wickets each in the final session as New Zealand reduced Australia to 34-4 before it staged its late recovery.
New Zealand heads into the final day in a strong position to continue its streak of unbeaten test series at home. After the current pair, Australia has wicketkeeper Alex Carey to come, then captain Pat Cummins and the rest of the bowlers.
Australia had held a slight advantage at the end of the second day when New Zealand was 134-2 in its second innings, a lead of only 40.New Zealand increased its lead through an absorbing day Sunday, through a partnership of 123 between Ravindra and Mitchell and with the help of Scott Kuggeleijn’s 44 from 49 balls near the end.
But just as New Zealand seemed to be gaining control and putting itself into a position to set Australia a much more demanding fourth-innings chase, wickets fell in clumps and Australia put itself back in the match.
The first session was a good one for New Zealand as it added 105 runs for the loss of Latham’s wicket. Latham resumed at 65 not out and wasn’t able to fully re-start his innings before he fell to a catch by Carey off Cummins.Carey took four catches on the third day and one to remove Kane Williamson (51) on day two to finish with 10 catches in the match.
Ravindra was 11 when play began Sunday, after battling the Australian seamers for 55 minutes before stumps on day two. (AP)
