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| November 02, 2006 | Thursday | Shawwal 9, 1427 |
Aussies storm into their first final
MOHALI, Nov 1: Favourites Australia overcame valiant New Zealand by 34 runs here on Wednesday to enter the Champions Trophy final for the first time in five attempts.
Captain Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds hit 58 runs each to help the world champions recover from a disastrous 4-2 to post 240-9 after being sent to bat in the day/night semi-final.
New Zealand were bowled out for 206 in reply after 36-year-old Glenn McGrath dispelled doubts over his future in the game with a superb 3-22 in an unbroken opening spell of 10 overs.
The Black Caps were in danger of falling short of their lowest one-day total of 64 against Pakistan in Sharjah in 1986 when they slipped to 35-6 by the 15th over.
But Daniel Vettori (79) and Jacob Oram (43) gave the Aussies a fright by adding 103 for the seventh wicket as the late evening dew made it difficult for bowlers to grip the ball.
Symonds broke the threatening stand by having Oram stumped in the 36th over before and Vettori was bowled by Mitchell Johnson in the 43rd.
New Zealand added 171 runs for the last four wickets amid full-throated support from some 20,000 Indian fans, but the effort was not enough to secure victory.
It was Australia's 16th win over their trans-Tasman rivals in the last 18 meetings, sending them to Sunday's final in Mumbai against the winner of Thursday's other semi-final between South Africa and the West Indies in Jaipur.
Australia had not made the final in the four previous editions of the biennial tournament.
Ponting's men were stunned by hostile Kyle Mills before they pulled themselves out of a deep hole. Mills finished with 4-38, but the New Zealand batsmen undid his good work in the second session.
McGrath had Lou Vincent caught at second slip by Ponting for one and Brett Lee bowled Nathan Astle for zero as the Black Caps slipped to 20-2 by the seventh over.
Two more wickets fell in eight balls at the score of 30 to diminish New Zealand's chances of causing an upset.
McGrath forced Hamish Marshall to edge a catch to wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist, before New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming fell in Nathan Bracken's first over.
Fleming made 15 off 28 balls when he hung his bat out to Bracken and was snapped up by Ponting in the slips.
McGrath then bowled Peter Fulton for two and had Brendon McCullum caught by Damien Martyn to leave New Zealand struggling at 35-6.
Earlier, Mills struck twice in the third over of the match when he had Shane Watson caught with the second ball and Gilchrist was snapped up off the fifth.
Martyn (26) helped Ponting add 66 for the third wicket when he fell to Vettori in the 20th over.
Ponting moved to his 55th one-day 50 in the 27th over, but was dismissed two overs later when he holed out to mid-on against Mills.
Michael Hussey put on 65 for the fifth wicket with Symonds, whose run-a-ball knock boosted Australia's lower order before he was bowled by a Shane Bond full toss.
Scoreboard
AUSTRALIA:
A.C. Gilchrist c Oram b Mills 3
S.R. Watson c Fulton b Mills 0
R.T. Ponting c Vettori b Mills 58
D.R. Martyn lbw b Vettori 26
M.E.K. Hussey c Marshall b Franklin 35
A. Symonds b Bond 58
M.J. Clarke c Vettori b Mills 14
B. Lee b Bond 5
M.G. Johnson run out 3
N.W. Bracken not out 15
G.D. McGrath not out 0
EXTRAS (LB-6, W-14, NB-3) 23
TOTAL (for nine wkts, 50 overs) 240
FALL OF WKTS: 1-3, 2-4, 3-70, 4-123, 5-188, 6-211, 7-220, 8-223, 9-236.
BOWLING: Mills 10-1-38-4 (1w); Bond 10-0-55-2 (10w); Franklin 8-1-48-1 (2nb, 3w); Oram 10-1-43-0 (1nb); Vettori 10-0-41-1; Astle 2-0-9-0.
NEW ZEALAND:
L. Vincent c Ponting b McGrath 1
S.P. Fleming c Ponting b Bracken 15
N.J. Astle b Lee 0
H.J.H. Marshall c Gilchrist b McGrath 5
P.G. Fulton b McGrath 2
J.D.P. Oram st Gilchrist b Symonds 43
B.B. McCullum c Martyn b Bracken 1
D.L. Vettori b Johnson 79
J.E.C. Franklin c Gilchrist b Watson 8
K.D. Mills c Gilchrist b Lee 21
S.E. Bond not out 9
EXTRAS (LB-7, W-13, NB-2) 22
TOTAL (all out, 46 overs) 206
FALL OF WKTS: 1-16, 2-20, 3-30, 4-30, 5-34, 6-35, 7-138, 8-159, 9-180.
BOWLING: Lee 8-0-31-2 (1nb, 6w); McGrath 10-2-22-3 (2w); Bracken 7-1-36-2 (3w); Johnson 7-0-38-1 (1nb, 2w); Watson 7-0-27-1, Symonds 7-0-45-1.
RESULT: Australia won by 34 runs.
UMPIRES: S.A. Bucknor (West Indies) and R.E. Koertzen (South Africa).
TV UMPIRE: B.F. Bowden (New Zealand).
MATCH REFEREE: M.J. Procter (South Africa).
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Glenn McGrath.—AFP
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