Nov 1, 2006, 18:10 GMT
Mohali, Nov 1 (IANS) World champions Australia defeated New Zealand by 34 runs in the first semi-final here Wednesday to enter the Champions Trophy final and attempt to win their first title.
New Zealand, choosing to bowl first after Stephen Fleming won the toss, restricted their Trans-Tasman rivals to 240 for nine wickets in 50 overs, but Australia showed why they are the world's most feared team as they bundled the Kiwis out for 206 in 46 overs to enter their maiden Champions Trophy final.
The Ricky Ponting-led Australia, winner of three World Cup titles, will play the winner of the second semi-final between the West Indies and South Africa, to be held in Jaipur Thursday.
Australia's win was delayed by Daniel Vettori, who scored a responsible 79 (103 balls, 7x4s), and Jacob Oram (43, 59 balls, 5x4s).
Fast bowler Glenn McGrath started the demolition job by inducing a thick edge Lou Vincent (1) to Ponting at second slip. From 16 to one it became 20 for two when pace spearhead Brett Lee got into action and castled Nathan Astle neck and crop.
It was again the turn of McGrath to strike and he had Hamish Marshall (5) edging one to wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist. The score: 30 for three in 9.2 overs.
Ten runs later, left-arm fast bowler Nathan Bracken scalped the prized wicket of captain Fleming (15) to leave New Zealand tottering 30 for four.
Peter Fulton also failed to revive the crumbling Kiwis and he was bowled by McGrath for two. One run later, Bracken bowled a fullish ball and McCullum tried to work it over mid-on but ended up giving a catch to Damien Martyn.
Then Oram and Vettori dropped anchor and were involved in a diligent partnership for the seventh wicket. They batted cautiously and gradually built the association worth 103 runs.
Vettori went on to notch his third half-century in his 177th ODI. His 50 came off 74 balls and contained five boundaries.
Off-spinner Andrew Symonds finally broke the stand when Gilchrist stumped him for a priceless 43 (59 balls, 5x4s). Soon after Oram's dismissal, James Franklin also followed him inside the dressing room after making just 10.
After Franklin's dismissal, Vettori and Kyle Mills (21) added 21 for the ninth wicket before Vettori was finally bowled by Michael Johnson. And 26 runs later, Lee had Mills were caught behind by Gilchrist to seal the win.
McGrath ended up with three wickets and won the Man of the Match award, while Lee and Bracken took two wickets apiece.
Earlier, Australia lost few quick wickets early on but did well to put a challenging total of 240 for nine wickets. Ponting (80 balls, 9x4s) and Symonds (58 balls, 3x4s, 1x6) were the top scorers with an identical 58.
The New Zealand bowlers proved that their captain Fleming made the right decision to bowl first by reducing Australia to 70 for three by the 20th over.
Opener Shane Watson was the first to depart without opening his account when he tried to pull Mills but mistimed the shot and was caught at mid-off by Fulton with just three on board in the third over. Three balls later Mills struck gain to dismiss Gilchrist (3), who gave a low catch to Oram in the mid-wicket.
Left-arm spinner Vettori did a good job by containing the Australian batsman and his first four overs conceded just five runs and he also picked up the valuable wicket of the in form Damien Martyn (26). The Australian attempted to sweep Vettori but missed the line of the ball and was adjudged leg before the wicket in the 20th over.
The right-handed batsman with Ponting put on 66 runs for the third wicket. Just when Ponting was trying to cut loose, Mills struck again to remove him in the 29th over.
Symonds and Michael Hussey (35) then built a crucial partnership of 65 run for the fifth wicket. With the boundaries drying up the duo relied on singles and kept the momentum going. The partnership was broken by James Franklin, who dismissed Hussey in the 41st over.
The Australian batsmen got good starts but failed to convert them into big scores, due to which they fell short of 30-40 runs in the end.
Mills was the most successful of the New Zealand bowlers as he scalped four wickets for 38 runs and Shane Bond picked up two for 55.
SCOREBOARD
Australia vs. New Zealand (day-night), Champions Trophy, Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Nov 1
Australia:
A. Gilchrist c Oram b Mills 3
S. Watson c Fulton b Mills 0
R. Ponting c Vettori b Mills 58
D. Martyn lbw Vettori 26
M. Hussey c H. Marshall b Franklin 35
A. Symonds b Bond 58
M. Clarke c Vettori b Mills 14
B. Lee b Bond 5
M. Johnson run out (Bond) 3
N. Bracken not out 15
G. McGrath not out 0
Extras: (lb 6, w 14, nb 3) 23
Total: (for nine wickets in 50 overs) 240
Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Watson, 2.2 overs), 2-4 (Gilchrist, 2.5), 3-70 (Martyn, 19.3), 4-123 (Ponting, 28.6), 5-188 (Hussey, 40.1), 6-211 (Symonds, 45.4), 7-220 (Clarke, 46.5), 8-223 (Lee, 47.2), 9-236 (Johnson, 49.5)
Bowling:
Kyle Mills 10-1-38-4 (1w)
Shane Bond 10-0-55-2 (6w)
James Franklin 8-1-48-1 (2nb, 2w)
Jacob Oram 10-1-43-0 (1nb)
Daniel Vettori 10-0-41-1
Nathan Astle 2-0-9-0
New Zealand:
L. Vincent c Ponting b McGrath 1
S. Fleming c Ponting b Bracken 15
N. Astle b Lee 0
H. Marshall c Gilchrist b McGrath 5
P. Fulton b McGrath 2
J. Oram st Gilchrist b Symonds 43
B. McCullum c Martyn b Bracken 1
D. Vettori b Johnson 79
J. Franklin c Gilchrist b Watson 8
K. Mills c Gilchrist b Lee 21
S. Bond not out 9
Extras: (lb 7, w 13, nb 2) 22
Total: (all out in 46 overs) 206
Fall of wickets: 1-16 (Vincent, 5.3 overs), 2-20 (Astle, 6.2), 3-30 (Marshall, 9.2), 4-30 (Fleming, 10.4), 5-34 (Fulton, 13.4), 6-35 (McCullum, 14.2), 7-138 (Oram, 35.1), 8-159 (Franklin, 38.6), 9-180 (Vettori, 42.4)
Brett Lee 8 0 31 2 (1nb, 5w)
Glenn McGrath 10 2 22 3 (2w)
Nathan Bracken 7 1 36 2 (3w)
Michael Johnson 7 0 38 1 (1nb, 2w)
Shane Watson 7 0 27 1
Andrew Symonds 7 0 45 1
Result: Australia won by 34 runs
Man of the Match: Glenn McGrath
Umpires: Steve Bucknor (West Indies) and Rudi Koertzen (South Africa)
Third umpire: Mark Benson (England)
Match referee: Mike Procter (South Africa)
© 2006 Indo-Asian News Service
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