Australia endured three rain delays in their T20I series against New Zealand and registered a 27-run victory in Auckland.
However, former captain Steve Smith suffered another setback on Sunday in his attempt to be named in the T20 World Cup squad for June, failing to deliver once again.
Australia were 118-4 in 10.4 overs, an innings interrupted twice by showers in Auckland.
A third spell of heavy rain delayed their innings and the Black Caps posted a total of 126 in 10 overs, but the hosts were beaten to 98-3 by the Australian bowlers at the Eden Gardens.
With little danger from dead rubber, most of the focus has been on Smith’s performance with the bat.
The 34-year-old was recast as a top option late in his career and was given another chance to start in the absence of David Warner.
But Smith’s meek departure after scoring three goals showed how tenuous his place in the squad for his fourth World Cup was already.
The 34-year-old broke the boundary with a textbook pull but two balls later he made a half-hearted attempt to intercept Adam Milne’s delivery, sneaking the ball past wicket-keeper Tee Tim Seifert.
Smith was the only Australian batsman to be dismissed without leaving a visible mark in the rain-affected clash.
Matt Short (27 off 11 deliveries) and Glenn Maxwell (20 off 9 deliveries) played explosive hands, while Travis Head Head) (33 off 30 deliveries) accumulated well.
Finishers Josh Inglis (14 off 8) and Tim David (8 off 3) were left out as rain ended their spell at the crease Be eliminated.
New Zealand were once again short of strength with the likes of Kane Williamson, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra missing out on key players and looked like they were never going to catch up.
Will Young and Tim Siefert were sacked early, leaving the key duo of Finn Allen and Glenn Phillips Dilemma, they needed 96 runs off 43 balls.
Phillips was furious when Nathan Ellis hit four consecutive dot balls with an outswing, raising the required run rate for the over from 12 to 15 per over.
The heat only spiked further moments later when Allen drilled Adam Zampa’s bowling into the hole to put the game away from the Black Caps.
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Phillips was New Zealand’s best player with an unbeaten 40 in 24 games, but he couldn’t find a partner to play alongside him.
Spencer Johnson (1-10 through two rounds) was impressed with the ball, as was Ellis (0-11 through two rounds).
Australia’s captain in the first two games, Mitch Marsh, was named player of the series.
“Winning 3-0 was a great effort,” Marsh said. “Coming to New Zealand, it’s always a tough challenge…especially their T20 team, which is a tough team.”
Australia made three changes from the third match, with Marsh, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood rested ahead of the Test series starting at Wellington Basin Reserve on Thursday.
Blackcaps captain Mitch Santner lamented the missed chances on the field – seven of which were conceded – but said the losses would not damage confidence in the Test.
“This series didn’t go the way we wanted it to, but we were able to stop … and get into the testing phase,” Santner said. “Playing at home against Australia is always a big moment.”
The result meant Australia retained the Chapel-Hadlee Trophy, which was previously only contested in ODIs but is now contested in all short series.
