Australia rout Black Caps by 247 runs, win series

Melbourne : Nathan Lyon and James Pattinson kept Tom Blundell's brilliant hundred in a shade to help Australia win the second Test by 247 runs and take an unassaible 2-0 lead in the three-match rubber against New Zealand on the fourth day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) here on Sunday.

Chasing a stiff 488 for victory, New Zealand were reduced to 35/3 as Pattinson (3/35) claimed three wickets in nine balls including the one of skipper Kane Williamson for a duck.

Blundell, who could have been lbw in the first over, then staged a stupendous fightback with 121 off 210 balls (15x4) before Marnus Labuschagne had him caught behind by Australia skipper Tim Paine to win the game. Trent Boult was absent hurt as the Kiwis were bowled out for 240.

Blundell shared a 54-run stand with Henry Nicholls (33) and then joined hands with stumper batsman BJ Watling (22) for a 72-run association on Sunday but Nathan Lyon (4/81) dismissed both of them and also accounted for Colin de Grandhomme (9) and Mitchell Santner (27) to shave off the visitors' lower order and end any slim hopes of a comeback.

Earlier, Pattinson was on a role as he nabbed three Kiwi batsman in a stirring spell of fast bowling after Aussies declared on 168/5.

Blundell then delayed the hosts' triumph with counterattacking batting and along with Nicholls and Watling showed semblence of a fight.

But once those two stands were broken, it was only a matter of time as stretched their unbeaten run against trans-Tasman neighbours to 25 years.

The Aussies had thrashed Williamson's team by 296 runs in the Day-Night opener in Perth.

The bulwark of Aussies' victory was built around Travis Head's 114 with helping hands from Steve Smith (85) and Labuschagne (63). The hosts put up 467 on the board in the first innings as Kiwi pacer Tim Southee scalped six wickets.

The hosts later bundled out New Zealand for just 148 runs to take a healthy 319-run lead as Aussie pacer Pat Cummins emerged with impressive figures of 5/28 while James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc picked three and two wickets respectively, putting their side in commanding position.

The two sides will now square-off for the final time in the rubber from January 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in Sydney.

Earlier, the Williamson-led side had suffered a 296-run defeat in the first Test in Perth.

'We were not at the top of our game'

Williamson felt they were not up to the mark against a quality side and he also reckoned it has always been difficult to beat the Aussies in their own backyard.

Speaking after the match, the Kiwi skipper expressed: "I felt there was enough in the surface.

It was really important for us to be on top of our game, but credit to Australia for the way they played in the first session.

They've got a fantastic attack, they have the accuracy. They managed to get more out of the surface. They were better in all the departments, so we needed to be on the top of our game, but we didn't."

"It's always tough coming here and winning. At the moment we haven't been at our best and we were against a tough opposition. It's important that we learn quickly from our mistakes in certain areas," he added.

Meanwhile, Williamson also praised his pacer Neil Wagner, who became the second-fastest New Zealander to take 200 Test wickets, and Tom Blundell, who smashed a brilliant hundred in the second innings to put up a fight against the spirited Aussie bowling attack.

"Lion-hearted performance by Wagner, he just keeps going on. The effort by the bowlers was inspiring stuff and it was a magnificent hundred by Blundell in front of this crowd. At this stage it hasn't come off well, but we need to get better," expressed the Kiwi captain.