DHAKA: ICC World Cup (WC) co-host New Zealand are to likely take a clean shot over mighty Australia as the Kiwis restricted the Aussies at 151 runs in the teams’ WC Pool A game in Auckland Saturday.
Australia set New Zealand 152-run target playing 32.2 overs at Eden Park.
Chasing the target, New Zealand have scored 79 runs for three in 8.1 overs. Brendon McCullum hit his 30th One Day International (ODI) fifty.
McCullum and Martin Guptill began New Zealand’s innings. The pair started well.
Mitchell Starc struck first, sending Guptill back to the pavilion when the Kiwis scored 40 runs in 3.5 overs. Guptill contributed 11 n runs off 14 balls.
McCullum continued, hitting a half century until Pat Cummins made him walked to the pavilion. McCullum scored 50 runs off 24 balls with seven fours and three sixes.
Starc hit again, taking Ross Taylors’ wicket. Match break is underway. Kane Williamson remains not out.
Earlier, Australia captain Michael Clarke won the toss and decided to bat. The match kicked off at 7:00am Bangladesh time.
Aaron Finch and David Warner began the Aussies’ innings. New Zealan’s Tim Southee stroke first, tacking Finch’s wicket when Australia’s score was at 30 runs in just 2.2 overs. Shane Watson came in and began accompanying Warner.
However, the Aussies continued to play well, scoring 68 runs in the first ten overs - the third best in the tournament so far after New Zealand, which the Kiwis made twice against England and Sri Lanka.
But Daniel Vettori followed Southee when the Aussies scored 80 runs in 13 overs. Vettori took Watson’s wicket, leading a quick collapse for Australia. Watson scored 23 runs off 30 balls.
In next 26 runs for which Australia lost eight wickets, to slip from 80 for 1 to 106 for 9. It's their worst eight-wicket collapse in One Day Internationals (ODI)
Six Aussie batsmen walked to the pavilion before their score reached three digit in the teams’ ICC World Cup Pool A game at Eden Park, Auckland on Saturday.
The Kiwis made a combined effort. TA Boult took five wickets. Boult's figure in the game is his best in ODIs, and only his second haul of more than two wickets in 20 ODIs.
Southee and Vettori bagged two wickets each while Corey Anderson picked up one.
New Zealand, who won all their three games, kept the same side which has featured from the start of the tournament.
Australia, whose second game against Bangladesh was washed out in Brisbane, brought in fit-again skipper Michael Clarke for George Bailey and fast bowler Pat Cummins for Josh Hazlewood from the line-up which beat England in the opening game two weeks ago.
Excluding Saturday’s match, the trans-Tasman sides had not played a completed one-day international in four years since Australia's seven-wicket win at the last World Cup in Nagpur. They met in a no-result at the 2013 Champions Trophy in Birmingham.
Australia and New Zealand are two of the form sides of ODI cricket and on form could potentially meet again in the March 29 final in Melbourne. If they remain the top-two sides in pool A they are seeded not to face each other again unless they both reach the decider.
Australia were on an ODI winning streak of eight matches, stretching back to the South Africa series in November, while the Black Caps won eight of their past nine ODIs including three in the space of a week to make a flying start to the tournament.
Eden Park with its bizarre short boundaries (a straight hit of 64m and square hit of 63m) favors the chasing team. The Black Caps have batted first in all six ODIs played on the re-formatted ground, for one win, three losses, a tie and a no-result.
The last completed ODI played at Eden Park was a thrilling tie, when New Zealand and India each posted 314 totals, 13 months ago.
Teams:
New Zealand
Brendon McCullum (captain), Trent Boult, Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Adam Milne, Daniel Vettori, Kane Williamson, Corey Anderson, Tim Southee, Luke Ronchi (wkt), Ross Taylor
Australia
Michael Clarke (captain), David Warner, Aaron Finch, Shane Watson, Steven Smith, Brad Haddin (wkt), Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins
Umpires: Marais Erasmus (RSA) and Richard Illingworth (ENG)
Tv umpire: Sundaram Ravi (IND)
Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)
Weather: Mostly sunny and humid; 27 degrees
BDST: 1058 HRS, FEB 28, 2015
