The Canterbury Kings have held off the Sydney Thunder to win a trans-Tasman Twenty20 exhibition match in Christchurch by nine runs.
Set 211 for victory at Hagley Oval on Friday, the Thunder were off to a rollicking start through opener Aiden Blizzard.
The aggressive left-hander smacked 80 in a 43-ball knock that included eight fours and three sixes.
He departed at 2-128 and the asking rate began to climb with the fall of further wickets.
The Thunder, the first Big Bash League side to play in New Zealand, finished on 6-201.
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Earlier, Canterbury posted 3-210 after winning the toss and had a good platform from Black Caps opener Tom Latham, who hit 78 from 51 balls.
Latham had solid support from Peter Fulton (43), before not out batsmen Henry Nicholls and skipper Ronnie Hira closed out the innings with some big hitting.
Nicholls struck 42 from 18 balls, while Hira's 29 runs came off just nine balls and included three sixes.
