Simple formula now for Australia

Australia will leave the picturesque northern mountain city of Dharamshala without a victory, with a few things to work on, and a simple goal: win. 

While Steve Smith's men fell to an eight-run defeat to New Zealand, who are now in the box seat to top Group 2, it's not all doom and gloom for Australia.

Quick Single: New Zealand beat Australia in thriller

Fortunately, there's little time to dwell on the loss as their next opponent Bangladesh is already waiting in Bangalore for Monday's contest.

Below are the takeaways from Friday's match.

Sudden death

It doesn't get much simpler for Steve Smith and Darren Lehmann: win or you're out. Three wins should see Australia, or any side, progress to the semi-final stage, and that means Australia winning out in their three remaining Group 2 matches against Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. But to win the tournament, Australia will need to register five wins on the trot, a feat they have achieved twice in the past.

"We're still confident," Smith said. 

"We've obviously got to turn it around very quickly, with our next game at Bangalore. 

"But I'm confident in the group that we've got, that we can do it. 

"Hopefully we come out and win in a couple of days' time."

Bang it in

Much of the focus from Friday will be on Australia's batting performance, but their bowlers were exceptional to restrict New Zealand to 8-142 from 20 overs. Early on Smith decided that banging the ball into the wicket was the best option to keep the scoring down and take wickets. Mitchell Marsh found some reverse swing, James Faulkner claimed two key wickets, while Shane Watson was the pick of the Aussie bowlers, taking 1-22 from four overs. It's a tactic that will undoubtedly be used again, especially if the ball continues to scuff up like it did in Dharamshala.

"I thought we bowled quite well," Smith said. 

"I thought around 150-155 was probably par. 

"But today we just didn't bat well enough after seven overs up to about 15 (overs). We kept losing wickets in clumps and weren't able to get any partnerships together."

Middle-over blues

It was a point Smith repeated in his post-match press conference, that Australia need to be smarter through the middle-stages of a Twenty20 innings. In 50-over cricket, the middle overs are seen as a time to pull back the risks, milk singles and tick the scoreboard over. But there is no calm in the eye of a T20 storm, no time to relax, and no time to take your foot off the accelerator. It's a conundrum Australia must solve before Monday, and one Smith says each player must be accountable for.

"I guess it's each individual thinking the best way to play in the middle overs," Smith said. 

"It might not be about going after the ball and trying to hit fours and sixes. 

"It might be about getting off strike, hitting the ball with the spin, things like that, to make sure that we can get a few partnerships together and have the wickets in the shed to unleash the power we have at the back end. 

"Because we certainly do have a lot of power there, it's just about giving the guys a chance to use it."

Aussies succumb to spin

It was set to be the Kryptonite on this tour, and after only one match, spin has once again defeated Australia. Mitchell Santner (2-30) and Ish Sodhi (1-14) controlled those pesky middle overs with distinction, rarely offering a bad ball that begged to be hit for six, except the left-arm orthodox's final over. It's a tactic that isn't likely to go away, with three Asian teams remaining for Australia, spin will continue to play a major role. 

"I think when the ball got a little bit older it chewed up pretty quickly and you could see there was quite a lot of spin, and that's always difficult to play," Smith said.

"Credit to the New Zealand bowlers, they got the ball in the right areas and made us play some pretty average shots. 

"For us it's about finding a way in the seven to 15 overs, try to build a few partnerships. It might not be about trying to clear the fence, it might be about getting lots of singles and getting off strike, lots of twos, something we haven't done so well and we didn't do it well again today."