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Aussies crush the
Kiwis to enter the Finals for the first time |
November 01, 2006 (Link to
Scorecard)
 Australia
have stormed into the finals of the Champions
Trophy for the first time in the tournament
history as they beat New Zealand by 34 runs in
the first Semi-Final at Mohali. A batting
collapse from the Black Caps in chasing a
competitive total of 240 shut their chances as
they were down and out at 35 for 6. But an
amazing hundred-run stand between Jacob Oram and
Daniel Vettori saw a ray of hope for the Kiwis
but the match was almost lost before the
partnership even got going. The margin of defeat
meant that New Zealand went down fighting.
It was Stephen Fleming who rightly called
‘Heads’ this afternoon to put the Aussies to bat
first on a wicket that had a bit of grass to
keep the fast bowlers interested. A great start
from Kyle Mills saw the wickets of the two
openers gone that of Watson and the dangerous
Gilchrist. But the Aussies fought back in an
incredible fashion putting on three consecutive
half century partnerships to give the innings
some shape under seaming conditions. Ricky
Ponting batted with utmost responsibility to
score his 55th ODI fifty. Andrew Symonds who had
come in at no.6 also scored a half century which
came at run-a-ball. Both Ponting and Symonds
scored 58 runs each. Michael Hussey with 35 and
Damien Martyn with 26 were the two other
significant contributors.
Kyle Mills was the star for the bowling side
picking up four wickets conceding just 38 runs
in his 10 overs. The Kiwis had bowled extremely
well giving away just 52 runs in the last 10
overs. It was a see-saw battle between bat and
the ball as both sides took turns to get back in
the match. In the end, New Zealand had
restricted Australia to 240 for 9. It wasn’t a
match winning total for the Australians and they
had to strike with the new ball. The Kiwis who
were without Scott Styris had included Hamish
Marshall and the batting with the exception of
Stephen Fleming was woefully out of form.
As usual, Glenn McGrath struck early removing
Lou Vincent in the 6th over and then Brett Lee
complemented it with a delivery that nipped back
a mile to disturb the furniture of Nathan Astle.
The wickets were going down in a great hurry
which also included that of Stephen Fleming who
was induced in playing a flashy drive off an
away swinger from Nathan Bracken. Fleming could
score just 15. With a score of 35 for 6, the New
Zealanders were looking good to crash for a
heavy defeat, the danger of getting bundled out
under 100 looked certain. But a solid
partnership between Jacob Oram and Daniel
Vettori saw the inevitable Australian defeat
delayed by a long time. It was Michael Hussey’s
fault for all this to happen as he had dropped a
sitter in the slips with Vettori on just 5 when
he had edged Bracken.
As long as the 7th wicket partnership between
Oram and Vettori was on, the Aussies were
feeling uncomfortable and the dew which had set
in had made batting look relatively easy. The
ball didn’t move at all once it got wet and the
shots were coming out at regular intervals from
the two all rounders. Gilchrist had rescued
Australia in the 36th over when he had taken off
the bails in a fraction of a second after seeing
Oram drag his backfoot out of the crease after
missing to connect an off break from Symonds.
Oram made 43 before getting stumped out. Daniel
Vettori carried on with his innings for a little
while but he got tired in his arms as he is not
used to batting out for such a long duration. He
eventually played onto his stumps trying to
smash Mitchell Johnson through the offside.
Vettori’s end came with a personal score of 79
which had come in 103 balls with 7 fours. With
Kyle Mills striking some late blows, New Zealand
finished at 206 all out in 46 overs with Brett
Lee dismissing Mills with a bouncer.
Glenn McGrath who had bowled his 10 overs on the
trot was declared as the Man of the Match for
taking three wickets which he did conceding 22
runs. Nathan Bracken who got the ball to swing
in this match took a couple of wickets. All the
six bowlers used by Ponting were amongst the
wickets. Australia now take on the winner of the
second semi-final match between South Africa and
West Indies which is to be played tomorrow at
the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. The Final
is on the 5th at the Brabourne Stadium in
Mumbai.
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