Gardner's sublime all-round effort keeps Rose Bowl in Aussie hands

Ashleigh Gardner has hammered her highest T20I score in almost seven years, powering Australia to a 40-run win over New Zealand in the second T20I in Sydney.

Gardner's 84 from 45 deliveries propelled Australia to 7-167 at North Sydney Oval, and the vice-captain later picked up two wickets to cap off a solid all-round night, while Georgia Wareham nabbed 3-18 as the White Ferns were restricted to 8-127.

It means Australia have retained the Rose Bowl with one game to play, ahead of the series finale on Thursday night.

With Australia's next highest contributions coming from Beth Mooney (37 from 28) and Ellyse Perry (11), Gardner dominated an otherwise stuttering batting display.

She dispatched Amelia Kerr to the boundary with a lofted shot over cover from the fifth delivery she faced, and went after off-spinner Nensi Patel, launching two enormous square sixes.

After bringing up her third fifty in her past seven T20I innings from 29 deliveries, Gardner launched in the 19th over, hitting Jess Kerr for 20 runs off four balls.

She was run out from the final ball of the innings, having posted her highest T20I score since February 2020, and the second highest of her career behind the 93 she scored against India on that occasion.

Needing 168 to keep the series and their hopes of regaining the Rose Bowl alive, New Zealand suffered two early blows when Georgia Plimmer (6) failed to repeat her heroics from the first T20I, spooning a simple catch to mid-off off Kim Garth, and Lucy Hamilton got one through Flora Devonshire's defence to bowl the opener for 12.

Amelia Kerr (32 off 38) and Maddy Green (26 off 22) were the beneficiaries of a handful of uncharacteristic mistakes from Australia, with the former getting a life on 18 thanks to a miscommunication between Perry and Annabel Sutherland, who narrowly avoided a collision at mid-off.

Green meanwhile was put down on five when Nicola Carey dropped a sitter on the boundary, and again on 23 when Hamilton couldn't hang onto a powerfully struck return chance.

Australia continued to turn the screws, however, with the required rate hitting 12 by the end of the 11th over and creeping up to almost 16 in the 14th when the pressure got the better of Kerr, who holed out to a diving Wareham at deep midwicket.

Still needing 91 from 37, an already dire position became even tougher when Green was run out at the non-striker's end after Wareham got a hand to Izzy Sharp's straight drive, with the ball ricocheting onto the stumps.

Having put on a competitive 2-162 in the series opener, New Zealand finished miles off at 8-127 on Tuesday, with Australia officially retaining the Rose Bowl. At least this time, the White Ferns will only have to wait until March's ODI series for another crack at ending Australia's near-27-year grip on the trophy.

Earlier, Australia's streak of coin toss wins ended when Kerr called correctly and to no one's surprise, put the hosts in to bat first at a venue known for chasing.

The Aussies had opted to chase in all three one-dayers against Bangladesh earlier this month and in Sunday's first T20I, but now the pressure was on their star-studded line-up to set a target.

Illing removed Georgia Voll for a second consecutive duck, with the opener this time attempting to pull a short and wide delivery and only managed to top edge it, with the White Ferns quick safely pouching a return catch.

Phoebe Litchfield, making her return after missing two matches with a hip injury, spent just nine balls in the middle before holing out to mid-on for seven, while Perry, fresh off 52 in the series opener, couldn't repeat the dose, finding long-on off Nensi Patel.

Mooney was meanwhile riding her luck, dropped by Brooke Halliday in the deep on four, with the ball bursting through the fielder's hands and going for four, and again on 25 in the eighth over when Kerr couldn't hang onto a tough chance diving to her left in her follow through.

Her fortune finally came to an end in the 13th over when she holed out on the boundary, ending a 28-ball knock that featured six boundaries.

While Gardner was unleashing at the other end, Wareham (3) and Sutherland (10) could not go with her, and the star allrounder's innings only ended when she was run out selflessly seeking a second run from the final ball of the innings.

Australia XI: Beth Mooney (wk), Georgia Voll, Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham, Annabel Sutherland, Nicola Carey, Sophie Molineux (c), Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton

New Zealand XI: Georgia Plimmer, Flora Devonshire, Melie Kerr (c), Maddy Green, Izzy Sharp, Brooke Halliday, Jess Kerr, Polly Inglis (wk), Rosemary Mair, Nensi Patel, Bree Illing

NRMA Insurance Women's T20 Series v New Zealand

First T20I: Australia won by two wickets

Second T20I: Australia won by 40 runs

Third T20I: Thursday, October 22

* All matches played at North Sydney Oval starting at 7:15pm AEDT

Australia T20I squad: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham 

New Zealand T20I squad: Melie Kerr (c), Eden Carson, Flora Devonshire, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis (wk), Bella James, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Nensi Patel, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Izzy Sharp

All women's international matches will be shown live on Seven, 7Plus, Kayo Sports and Foxtel